Katie Hopkins to leave LBC 'immediately' in wake of Manchester attack 'final solution' comments

She was at the station for less than a year

Christopher Hooton
Friday 26 May 2017 11:09 BST
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Katie Hopkins sacked by LBC

Katie Hopkins is to leave LBC with immediate effect, the radio station has confirmed.

The announcement comes shortly after Hopkins said that a "final solution" was needed following the Manchester terror attack that killed 22.

The since-deleted post appeared to call for genocide, her use of "final solution" presumably referring to the Nazi genocide of millions of Jews in the Second World War.

"22 dead - number rising," she wrote on 23 May. "Schofield. Don't you even dare. Do not be a part of the problem. We need a final solution #Machester."

LBC told The Independent it would not be "commenting further [than the tweet below]".

Complaints were made to the Metropolitan Police about Hopkins' tweet, which she later said she stood by, but claimed the use of "final" was a typo, changing it to "true" in a new tweet.

Hopkins has consistently been referring to "Islamic terror" and "Islamic extremists" on Twitter, phrasing with implications to an entire religion that even President Trump has been conscious to try and avoid.

Though he used "Islamic" while campaigning, during his recent trip to the Middle East his speeches were on the threat of "Islamist terror" (though he misspoke in Saudi Arabia on Sunday and accidentally said "Islamic").

A spokesman for the Met said on Tuesday: "We can confirm that a complaint has been received by the Metropolitan Police Service on Tuesday, 23 May in relation to a tweet published on the same day.

Katie Hopkins' most controversial moments

"As is routine, the allegation will be reviewed and assessed by specialist officers."

Last year, MailOnline, whom Hopkins still works for, was forced to pay £150,000 to a Muslim family whom she falsely accused of extremist links.

Donald Trump thanked Hopkins in December 2015 for her "powerful writing on the UK's Muslim problems", describing her as a "respected columnist".

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Hopkins achieved fame in 2006 on BBC show The Apprentice, but it was her outspoken and often controversial opinions that furthered her career.

In 2015, she hosted a talk show on TLC called If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World which was cancelled after one season due to poor ratings. Her subsequent LBC show aired on Sunday mornings between 10am and 12pm.

Her "final solution" tweet was not the first time she has referenced the Holocaust, previously saying of the House of Lords: "Frankly, I don’t really mind if we seal up the room and gas the lot of them."

Hopkins is not a member of a political party, although, according to the Spectator, she has applied to join Ukip several times but has always been denied.

MailOnline and a representative for Hopkins declined to comment.

Update: Hopkins has indirectly responded to the news on Twitter

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