UK PM Johnson, Rishi Sunak & Liz Truss condemn 'disgraceful' attack on Salman Rushdie

After the acclaimed British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie's knife assault incident sent shockers worldwide, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak condemned the heinous crime. Rushdie, the literary figure irked in the Islamic world for his book The Satanic Verses, was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York when an assailant stabbed him in the neck multiple times, according to an AP reporter who witnessed the attack. Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie, informed news agencies that the writer was in surgery but gave no other details on Rushdie’s condition.

Johnson on Friday was appalled by the incident, as he tweeted: "Rushdie was exercising right we should always defend. Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay." The assault that has rattled the literary world, happened at about 11 am, shortly after Rushdie, 75, took the stage to deliver a lecture to the arts and the literary programming community. He had to be lifted via a helicopter to a local hospital, the state police said in a statement. Henry Reese, a co-founder of the City of Asylum organisation who was apparently seated next to Rushdie, suffered a minor head injury as the assault was so brutal, the police said.

Rishi Sunak 'shocked' on Rushdie's attack

Ex-Chancellor of Britain Rishi Sunak derided the attack saying, "shocked to hear of the attack on Salman Rushdie in New York." Furthermore, he added that Rushdie was the champion of free speech and artistic freedom. UK's foreign minister Liz Truss slammed what she described as the "disgraceful attack" on Salman Rushdie. "People must be able to speak freely and freedom of speech must be defended. My thoughts are with him, his family and loved ones," she tweeted.