The US president has insisted that US style gun laws could have helped prevent that Paris terror attacks.

Speaking at the National Rifle Association Convention (NRA) in Dallas, Donald Trump said “it would have been a whole different story” if members of the public were armed.

Making a gun gesture with his fingers and shouting "boom," he told the audience that "if one employee or just one patron had a gun… or if one person in this room had been there with a gun" the attackers would have been stopped in their tracks.

He said: "The terrorists would have fled or been shot and it would have been a whole different story."

The attacks in November 2015 left 130 people dead after a series of mass shootings and suicide bombings at packed venues including the Bataclan theatre and the Stade de France football stadium.

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Gun laws

Mr Trump reflected on the number of people murdered, and said: "Nobody has guns in Paris, nobody, and we all remember the more than 130 people, plus the tremendous numbers of people that were horribly, horribly wounded.

"They died in a restaurant and various other close-proximity places. They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists that had guns.

"They took their time and gunned them down one by one."

He then simulated lining up and shooting innocent victims, as he said: "Boom, come over here. Boom, come over here. Boom, come over here. Boom."

Knife crime

Turning his attention to London, he claimed there was blood all over the floors of one of the city’s hospitals as a result of rampant knife crime.

"I recently read a story that in London, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds," he said.

"Yes, that's right they don't have guns, they have knives - and instead blood is all over the floors of this hospital.

"They say it's as bad as a military war zone hospital. Knives, knives, knives. London hasn't been used to that, they're getting used to it, it is pretty tough."

The president then mimed a stabbing motion.

His comments were warmly received by the NRA audience.

"Ridiculous"

This afternoon however, the director of London's major trauma system said it was "ridiculous" to suggest guns are part of the solution to knife crime.

In a statement, Professor Karim Brohi said knife violence is serious issue for London, adding that the Royal London Hospital is “proud of the excellent trauma care we provide and of our violence reduction programmes.”

“There is more we can all do to combat this violence, but to suggest guns are part of the solution is ridiculous,” he said.

“Gunshot wounds are at least twice as lethal as knife injuries and more difficult to repair.

“We are proud of our world-leading service and to serve the people of London.”

Second Amendment

The US president also noted "if we're going to outlaw guns" then we are "going to have to outlaw all vans and all trucks, which are now the new form of death for the maniac terrorists."

Urging NRA supporters to back Republican candidates in the upcoming congressional elections, President Trump said Democrats would look to tighten gun laws after a series of mass shootings in the US.

At least 38 people have died in London so far this year as a result of knife crime, according to the Met Police.