The Conservatives have been forced to awkwardly delete an attack ad on Sadiq Khan because it showed footage of New York rather than London.
The caption on the advert, posted on X in support of Susan Hall's campaign, claimed "London under Labour has become a crime capital of the world".
But part of the advert showed clips of people rushing through New York's Penn station after false reports of gunfire in 2017.
It was pointed out on social media that the video featured New York, after which point it was taken down. A new advert was reposted with the clips of Penn station cut out.
The Conservatives have been forced to awkwardly delete an attack ad on Sadiq Khan because it showed footage of New York rather than London
PA
The scenes depicting New York were originally shown with a black and white filer. The audio over the top of the footage said: "A 54 per cent increase in knife crime since the Labour mayor seized power has the metropolis teetering on the brink of chaos.
“And in the chaos, people seek a desperate reprieve."
The video also claimed London sees "squads of Ulez enforcers dressed in black, faces covered with masks, terrorising communities at the beck and call of their Labour mayor master, who has implemented a tax on driving, forcing people to stay inside or go underground.
"Gripped by the tendrils of rising crime, London citizens stay inside. The streets are quiet."
A source close to Khan told PA Media: "It’s true to form for the Tory campaign. It’s a deeply misleading attack intentionally talking down London, from a candidate who appears to have no love for the city she aspires to lead."
The advert was not produced by Hall's campaign team, GB News understands.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, knife-enabled crimes in London to the end of June 2023 increased by 21 per cent.
But according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, people in London are less likely to be victims of crime than those based across the country as a whole.
In the capital, 14.9 per cent of people experienced a crime to their person or their household in the year up to September 2023. Nationally, the figure is 15.7 per cent.
Hall, who was chosen as the Tory candidate last summer, will face off against Khan on May 2.
She launched her "Listening to Londoners" campaign in Uxbridge on Sunday and highlighted local opposition to Ulez, as well as criticising Khan over his record on crime and housing.
Hall accused the Mayor of having "ignored Londoners for eight years", adding: "Crime has spiralled out of control after he shut police stations and failed to recruit police, rents have spiked because he has not built the affordable family homes Londoners deserve, and he has imposed his unfair Ulez expansion tax, hitting the lowest earners the hardest."
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It came just days after Khan launched his third re-election bid alongside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
His campaign launch saw him vow to build 40,000 new council homes by the end of the decade.
The former Tooting MP also used his speech to warn that the mayoral election on May 2 is a “two-horse race” between himself and Hall, who he claimed would “take our city backwards”.
The Tories have been contacted for comment.
