George Floyd death: Rioters 'have it coming', Sir Desmond Swayne says

Sir Desmond Swayne has been the MP for New Forest West in Hampshire since 1997

A Conservative MP has said US rioters "have it coming" in response to unrest following the death of George Floyd.

In emails since shared on social media, Sir Desmond Swayne likened racism to cancer but condemned the rioters.

Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American, suffered a cardiac arrest while being restrained in Minneapolis by a white police officer on 25 May.

President Donald Trump has vowed to use the military to end the unrest that has broken out across the US.

The level of civil unrest following George Floyd's death has not seen in the US for decades

Footage of Mr Floyd's arrest shows police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck while he was pinned to the floor.

Mr Chauvin, 44, has since been charged with murder. He and three other police officers have been fired.

The death of Mr Floyd has led to nationwide protests and a level of civil unrest not seen in the US for decades.

There have also been protests in the UK, and appeals by constituents to their MPs to condemn Mr Trump and support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sir Desmond, MP for New Forest West in Hampshire, was asked whether he could support the US after it threatened to send in the military.

In response to several queries, he said: "Racism is a cancer, and I'm glad that the perpetrator is on a murder charge.

"Nevertheless, looters, arsonists and rioters have it coming."

Constituent Millie Edland said she was "disgusted" by his email response to her, which has been seen by the BBC.

Another of Sir Desmond's constituents, who asked to be identified only as Eleanor, has had a post on social media of his response to her shared 17,000 times.

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Hampshire's Pennington Ward, Jack Davies, said: "It's a disgrace, he should apologise and I would even go so far as to say he should go for diversity training."

Sir Desmond, 63, declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

Last September in a post on his blog, the veteran Tory MP defended Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for wearing "brownface" makeup for a yearbook photo.

"It was a themed 'Arabian Nights' fancy-dress party for heaven's sake," he wrote.

"It comes to something when you can't dress up as Aladdin without attracting the opprobrium of the 'great and good'."

It then emerged that Sir Desmond had himself blacked up for a Blues Brothers-themed party.