BBC criticised for giving platform to right-wing US commentator who introduced Trump to Britain First

Ann Coulter has defended Donald Trump (Picture: AP)

The BBC has been criticised after airing an interview with the political commentator responsible for bringing Britain First to the attention of Donald Trump.

Ann Coulter, a prominent media personality in right-wing US politics, appeared on BBC Radio 4 this morning to claim that the President shouldn’t care about promoting an anti-Muslim hate group.

Coulter admitted that she was not aware of the group when she first shared the three videos which were later retweeted by Trump.

During the interview she defended his actions by claiming that they are just ‘videos’ and ‘that’s not how Twitter works’.

In one of the videos, it was claimed that a ‘Muslim migrant’ is seen attacking a Dutch man on crutches, before it was later revealed to be false information.

But Coulter has since stood firm and claimed that the man in the video is in fact a migrant.

‘This business about “Oh but he was born here.” Yeah, from migrant parents who came in the 80s. Anybody can look at the video and see this is a Middle Eastener’, she boldly claimed.

But the interview has now come under fire from critics who say that the BBC was wrong to give a platform to someone who is promoting Islamaphobic videos.

Among the leading critics was Labour MP Chris Bryant who said: ‘Sometimes I’m really taken aback by an interview. Ann Coulter was hectoring, mendacious and full of spite. I fear for the world when people like her have the ear of the world.’

The interview was also defended by the BBC’s Nick Robinson, who said the interview had a purpose to ‘reveal, explain, and, scrutinise the source of the Trump tweet”.

Despite her claims, it was yesterday revealed that the video is six months old and was filmed in Monnickendam, a town ten miles north of Amsterdam.

Police have now confirmed that the boy is not an immigrant, as claimed by Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen, and is in fact a Dutch national.

‘The guy in the video attacking a boy on crutches is a Dutch national’, a police spokesperson confirmed.

Trump’s actions have also been defended by White House press secretary Sarah Saunders.

‘Whether it is a real video, the threat is real,’ she told journalists.

‘That is what the president is talking about, that is what the president is focused on dealing with, those real threats and those are real no matter how you look at it.’