US President Donald Trump likened a London hospital to a "war zone" because of knife crime, as he defended America's use of guns.
His comments came during a speech to the National Rifle Association (NRA), in Dallas, Texas, where he also declared that American gun rights were "under siege".
"I recently read a story that in London, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds," he said.
"They don't have guns. They have knives and instead, there's blood all over the floors of this hospital.
"They say it's as bad as a military war zone hospital. Knives, knives, knives, knives."
"London hasn't been used to that. They're getting used to it. It's pretty tough."
A young attendee of an NRA event in Texas. Source: Getty Images North America
It's unclear which story Mr Trump was referring to but some media outlets are pointing to a Daily Mail article headlined: Surgeon says he is regularly treating children in school uniform for gun and knife wounds in London Hospital which is 'like Afghan war zone'.
The article was published on April 5, 2018, and quotes an interview with lead surgeon at the Royal London Hospital Martin Griffiths.
Griffiths is reported to have said his colleagues who had served in the military had likened their work at the hospital at being back on base in war-torn Afghanistan.
During his speech, the president also vowed not to tighten US gun laws despite suggesting after the Parkland, Florida school shooting that he would take on the powerful gun-rights group.
His address was during the NRA's annual convention where he called again for arming teachers and increasing school security to prevent future mass shootings.
The crowd in Washington, calling for better gun control in the March Of Our Lives rally. Source: AAP
Trump's bid for pro-gun support
With Republican control of Congress up for grabs in November's midterm elections, Trump used the NRA platform to return to rhetoric he used in 2016 to excite pro-gun voters, warning that Democrats are determined to take away Americans' guns.
He made no mention of gun-control proposals he tentatively floated in the past, such as raising the age limit for buying rifles. The NRA opposes that and other limits on gun sales as a violation of the right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
Democratic lawmakers generally support tighter gun laws, but specific proposals that they favour, such as universal background checks and a ban on military-style "assault" rifles, would not alter the Second Amendment.
"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege. But they will never, ever be under siege as long as I'm your president," Trump told the cheering crowd. "We've got to get Republicans elected.
"The one thing that stands between Americans and the elimination of our Second Amendment rights has been conservatives in Congress.
The Parkland massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14 seemed to have marked a turning point in America's long-running gun debate, sparking a youth-led movement for tighter gun controls.
Days after the shooting, Trump promised action on gun regulation and at a gathering of state officials, he said of the NRA: "We have to fight them every once in a while."
But since then, no major new federal gun controls have been imposed, although the administration is pursuing a proposed regulatory ban on "bump stocks," which enable a semi-automatic rifle to fire a steady stream of bullets. The devices were used in an October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people.
- With AAP
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