Fox News' 'terror expert' brands Birmingham as a place 'non-Muslims just simply don't go'

A self-proclaimed terrorism expert told the US Fox News channel that Birmingham is a ‘totally Muslim’ place.

17:09 12 January 2015

Steve Emerson, a self-proclaimed terrorism expert, has been subjected to a tidal wave of mockery after saying that Birmingham in the UK is a “totally Muslim” place where “non-Muslims just simply don’t go.”

“In Britain, it's not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don't go in,” he said.

“Parts of London, there are actually Muslim religious police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn't dress according to Muslim, religious Muslim attire.”

Mr Emerson added that there were sharia courts in Birmingham “where Muslim density is very intense, where the police don't go in, and where it's basically a separate country almost, a country within a country”, adding that the UK government did not “exercise any sovereignty” there.

Jeanine Pirro, the host of the Judge Pirro show, replied: “You know what it sounds like to me, Steve? It sounds like a caliphate within a particular country.”

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Thousands of social media users from all over the world took to Twitter and made things up about Fox News, Birmingham, or pretty much anything to mock the lack of fact checking at Fox.

ITN newsread Alastair Stewart wrote: “If you do not clean your finger-nails regularly, potatoes will grow in your stomach, crush your lungs & suffocate you. #FoxNewsFacts.”

Emmerson appeared to take the criticism onboard and issued an apology to ITV News: “I have clearly made a terrible error for which I am deeply sorry. My comments about Birmingham were totally in error. And I am issuing an apology and correction on my website immediately for having made this comment about the beautiful city of Birmingham.

“I do not intend to justify or mitigate my mistake by stating that I had relied on other sources because I should have been much more careful. There was no excuse for making this mistake and I owe an apology to every resident of Birmingham.

“I am not going to make any excuses. I made an inexcusable error. And I am obligated to openly acknowledge that mistake.”