Donald Trump denounces removal of 'beautiful' Confederate statues

Donald Trump has denounced the removal of “beautiful” Confederate statues amid widespread criticism after he defended organisers of a white supremacist rally.

The US President said in a series of tweets that it was “sad” to see the country’s history being “ripped apart” by removing the monuments.

It comes after he sparked a backlash by suggesting there were some “very fine people on both sides” of the far-right and anti-fascist protests in Charlottesville on Saturday.

On the social media site, he wrote: “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.

“You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!

“Also... the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!”

His latest comments came after he said there were “some very bad people” among the statue removal protesters, but added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”

The protest in Virginia culminated in the death of a Heather Heyer, 32, after a car crashed into anti-racist demonstrators.

Theresa May was among those to criticise Trump for his comments on far-right groups after the violence.

The Prime Minister said he had a responsibility to condemn far-right views “wherever we hear them.”