I can't account for what your British friends said, Jody. But I can tell you that it's happened before that some American knucklehead made that claim and got publicly humiliated by reality. Last time prior to Trump, a Fox News pundit (of course) made the claim, and no less than the Prime Minister slapped him down with a sarcastic rebuke shot 'round the world. This toxic urban myth isn't restricted to the UK, either, Fox News (of course!) got busted telling the same lie about Paris about a year ago.

Like a I said, there's no accounting for what people say, but every time some bonehead makes this claim, they get gut-punched by the facts. No such thing as "no-go Muslim zones" anywhere in the UK or France or anywhere but the fevered swamp pits of rightwing paranoia.

You're welcome!