'He's a national disgrace': Trump attacks Khan after three killed in London in space of 24 hours

Donald Trump has branded London mayor Sadiq Khan a "disaster" and a "national disgrace" following two fatal stabbings and a shooting in London in the space of 24 hours.

Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday evening: "LONDON needs a new mayor ASAP. Khan is a disaster - will only get worse!"

The US president later returned to Twitter, writing: "He [Mr Khan] is a national disgrace who is destroying the City of London!"

Mr Trump was responding to a post by outspoken right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins, in which she called the capital "Stab-City" and "Khan's Londonistan" alongside two screenshots of news articles detailing the violence.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said the mayor would not "waste his time responding to this sort of tweet" as he is "focusing on supporting London's communities and over-stretched emergency services".

He said: "He [Mr Khan] has been in regular touch with senior Met police officers last night and throughout the day.

His thoughts are with the victims' families.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn jumped to the defence of the London mayor, tweeting: "Absolutely awful to see @realDonaldTrump using the tragedy of people being murdered to attack the Mayor.

"@SadiqKhan is rightly supporting the police to do their job while Katie Hopkins spreads hateful and divisive rhetoric. They seek to divide at a time we need to come together."

Mr Trump and Mr Khan clashed during the president's state visit to the UK last week, when the president branded the mayor a "stone cold loser".

Mr Trump's latest insult came hours after a man was found stabbed to death in Tower Hamlets, east London.

The victim, aged in his 30s, was found injured on Alton Street just before 2pm.

The stabbing followed the arrests of 10 people after two teenagers were killed in a stabbing and shooting which happened 12 minutes apart in different parts of London on Friday.

Mr Khan tweeted he was "sickened" after the attacks, which are not thought to be connected.

He appealed to the public to help police with their investigations into the deaths.

At 4:42pm on Friday, police were called to Deeside Road in Wandsworth, south London, following reports of a stabbing.

Officers and paramedics found a victim, believed to be in his late teens, in a critical condition.

He died at the scene shortly afterwards.

Six men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and were taken to separate west London police stations for questioning.

Marina Paget, 22, who lives in the area, told the Press Association: "I walked past at 2.30pm and I didn't see anything, but when I came back from work at 5.30pm it was all going on.

"I walked past I saw what looked like the body on the floor covered in a bag and there were 50 people around, loads of people, two or three ambulances."

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan said the suspected murder was "heartbreaking".

"My heart goes out to the family of this victim after this absolutely tragic incident," she tweeted.

"I spoke at length with people on the Aboyne Estate tonight, anyone with concerns can contact me - I'm here to listen."

Fifteen miles away and just 12 minutes later at 4:54pm, officers were called to a car park in Hartville Road in Plumstead, southeast London, to reports of a shooting.

The victim, believed to be a teenager, was found critically injured. He died at the scene a short while later.

Four people - three men and a woman - have been arrested over the shooting.

Neither victim has been formally identified.

"Our overstretched police are working around the clock to keep Londoners safe," Mr Khan said in a statement. "They need our support to end this scourge of violence."

Police recorded 732 homicides in England and Wales last year, the highest total in a decade, according to official figures released in April.

Meanwhile, the number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments increased by 6% in 2018 compared to the previous 12 months.

The figures came after a spate of knife crimes involving young people sparked a political row over cuts to police funding.

Research given exclusively to Sky News last month revealed knife crime and gang culture has left a quarter of young people feeling unsafe where they live.

:: Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information is asked to contact Tower Hamlets CID on 101 quoting CAD4256/15JUN, Tweet @MetCC, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.