Trevor Noah insists he never said entire UK is racist amid Rishi Sunak row | Trevor Noah

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The comedian Trevor Noah has said he did not claim the entire UK is racist after a row over his skit about Rishi Sunaks appointment as the UK prime minister.

Noah said on the US news program The Daily Show earlier this week that there had been a backlash over Sunak, comments that were widely criticized in the UK. The former chancellor Sajid Javid said Noah had been simply wrong.

The comedian, however, has now defended his segment, saying he was reacting to racists: Thats why I said some people.

Sunak, who was born in Hampshire to Indian parents, became the UKs first British-Asian prime minister on Tuesday, and the first Hindu to assume the role.

In the original comments on the US programme, Noah who is South African and grew up during apartheid said: You hear a lot of the people saying: Oh, theyre taking over, now the Indians are going to take over Great Britain and whats next?

And I always find myself going:” So what? What are you afraid of? I think its because the quiet part that a lot of people dont realize what theyre saying is: We dont want these people who were previously oppressed to get into power because then they may do to us what we did to them.

During his skit, Noah played a clip from LBC radio broadcast during the Conservative leadership race a week ago, when a caller falsely claimed Sunak was not even British.

Trevor Noah discusses appointment of Rishi Sunak as the UKs prime minister on The Daily Show

Javid tweeted in response that Noahs comments were so wrong and that Britain is the most successful multiracial democracy on earth and proud of this historic achievement.

The former Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart said Noahs remarks were completely bizarre and an example of lazy stereotyping.

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Downing Street said on Thursday that Sunak did not believe Britain was a racist country.

The presenter Piers Morgan also tweeted that US media was falsely portraying Britain as a racist country.

Noah responded on Friday evening, saying: Cmon Piers, youre smarter than that.

I wasnt saying the entire UK is racist, I was responding to the racists who dont want Rishi as PM because of his race. Thats why I said some people.

Noah has long spoken about racial inequality. He published a book in 2017 entitled Born a Crime, a reference to the fact he was born in South Africa to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a relationship was punishable by imprisonment.

He began his career in South Africa, releasing a string of standup specials and hosting a late-night talk show before relocating to the US in 2011.

He has hosted The Daily Show, a late-night talk and satirical news programme, since 2015, but announced last month that he would be standing down.

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