Donald Trump links mass immigration to Manchester terror attack despite bomber being British-born

Donald Trump appeared to link large-scale immigration to the terror attack in Manchester, even though bomber Salman Abedi was born in Britain.

Speaking at Nato headquarters in Brussels, the US president returned to a subject that has been a mainstay of his first foreign trip - that of confronting extremism.

“My travels and meetings have given me renewed hope that nations of many faiths can unite to defeat terrorism, a common threat to all of humanity,” he said in a speech during which he also berated those Nato members who had failed to contribute their fair share of the alliance’s costs.

“Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever.”

During his election campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly called for tougher screening of immigrants to the US, even though the process for refugees from countries such as Syria or Somalia can take up to five years.

The Muslim travel ban that he sought to introduce by means of an executive order, was based on his belief that migrants to the US, and other countries, were responsible for attacks in their new homes. Critics of Mr Trump and his policy pointed out there was no evidence to support such a claim.

Despite this, Mr Trump linked the issue in his speech to Nato country leaders.

“You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases, we have no idea who they are. We must be tough. We must be strong. And we must be vigilant,” he said.

“The Nato of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATO’s eastern and southern borders.”

Police in Manchester have said they are investigating what they believe is a network that may have been behind the attack that killed 22 people in Manchester and injured more than 60. Abedi was born to parents who had migrated from Libya.