America is about diversity, George Mitchell warns Mike Pence

Former US special envoy to Northern Ireland George Mitchell has issued a hard-hitting put down to the US administration, insisting America is about diversity and not “who we want to keep out and throw out”.

At the high-profile American Ireland Gala Fund dinner in Washington DC on Wednesday, in front of US vice-president Mike Pence, Mr Mitchell said immigration reforms must not lead to “hostility and exclusion” for minority groups.

In a speech focussing on immigration, Mr Mitchell, who played a key role in the North’s peace process, stressed that, “from the very beginning, our country has been enriched by new ideas and new people”.