The Prime Minister is preparing to offer Sir Sadiq Khan a peerage after the London elections, Labour sources say.
Sir Keir Starmer is also expected to offer the London mayor a cabinet role following the May 7 vote, a source familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
The move would likely come under some scrutiny after Sir Keir had previously pledged to abolish the peerage system.
Downing Street officials said the appointment would "shore up his position with patronage" at what is expected to be a moment of maximum danger after the local elections, said the person familiar with the discussions.
One Government figure said the proposal to draw Sir Sadiq "inside the tent" would "solve a lot of problems" after Labour is expected to suffer losses in the capital to Zack Polanski's Green Party and Nigel Farage's Reform UK
However, an ally of the London Mayor said Sir Sadiq "is completely focused on the job of delivering for Londoners", adding that peerages were a matter for the Government.
A Downing Street spokesman was quick to downplay the rumours, saying: "This is speculation." The mayor's office declined to comment.
Sir Sadiq has left the door open for a fourth term as London Mayor, having "already worked out" his campaign for the next contest for City Hall in 2028.
In February, he told LBC: "I’ve got the best job in politics. I’m thoroughly enjoying being the Mayor because I can deliver on the London promise that you work hard, you get a helping hand, you can achieve anything.
"I’ve worked really hard to make the city fairer, greener, safer, more prosperous and healthy. As long as I can deliver, I will carry on doing so."
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "Sadiq has not yet announced whether he is standing again for Mayor. This is the same as previous elections, where he announced his decision much later in the electoral cycle".
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Yvette Cooper meets with Marco Rubio at G7 summit
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper
|REUTERS
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has met with her Washington counterpart Marco Rubio at a key summit in Paris.
The two-day gathering brings together ministers from the G7, which also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan alongside the European Union.
Keir Starmer says he is ready for 'fight' with social media firms
Keir Starmer said he is up 'fight' with social media companies
|REUTERS
Sir Keir Starmer promised a “fight” with social media firms over efforts to keep children away from mobile phone, tablet and TV screens.
Speaking at a school in South London, the Prime Minister said: “Some of this will require a fight. If we’re going to do more to protect children, we’re going to have to fight some of the platforms that are putting the material up there because they’re putting this addictive stuff up there for a reason.
"They want more children to spend more time online and we’ve got to fight them and be clear whose side we’re on here.
"You may remember a few weeks ago, Grok on social media had these disgusting images and the Government went into a battle with them – a deliberate battle with them, which we won on behalf of those people who are subject to those disgusting images.
"We need the same mindset here because when the question of social media and children is discussed we need to be clear we’re on the side of parents and carers here."
Reform UK Scotland leader criticises 'fake outrage' over joke he admits was 'probably' homophobic
Reform UK’s leader in Scotland has hit out at "fake outrage" over a joke he made about late pop star George Michael that he accepted was "probably homophobic".
Malcolm Offord said he has had a "huge amount" of support from the public after details of the remarks, made at a rugby club dinner in 2018, emerged this week.
The joke was made public as campaigning got under way ahead of May’s Scottish Parliament election, with Lord Offord coming in for widespread criticism from other parties for the remarks.
He told the BBC: "The fake outrage on this has been quite astonishing in the media...I have had a huge amount of public support from people on this, 'you told a bad joke and you apologised for it Malcolm, what is the big deal?'"
Asked if his joke was homophobic, he said it "probably was", adding: "It was a mistake. I don’t have any issue with homophobia, I’ve got a lot of gay friends.
"It was an error of judgment, sometimes one does that, particularly when you are a private individual. Obviously when you are in public office it is a higher standards and we are all learning on the way."
He stressed the comments were made eight years ago, at a private event, before he became a politician.
Lord Mandelson to be asked for personal phone messages for release of files
Lord Mandelson will be asked for his phone
| PALord Peter Mandelson will be asked to supply messages from his personal phone as part of the disclosure of files related to his appointment as Sir Keir Starmer’s ambassador to the US.
Concerns have been raised that exchanges relating to the appointment could be lost after the theft of former No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney’s mobile phone last year.
MPs moved in February to force the publication of tens of thousands of documents amid questions over how much was known about Lord Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein before the peer was handed the Washington job.
The Cabinet Office is working on an information-gathering plan and will ask the ex-Labour grandee to provide everything he holds in scope of the humble address used to compel the release of correspondence, according to Whitehall sources.
They say this will include requesting data from his personal phone and stressed this had already been part of the plan.
Keir Starmer says President Trump's criticism is 'to pressure me on Iran but I will not buckle'
Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Donald Trump’s criticism of him is an attempt to push him to change his stance on the Iran war but vowed not to "buckle" under the pressure.
When asked whether Mr Trump’s repeated attacks had made him bristle, he told Sky News: "I think I understand what’s happening, it’s to put pressure on me in different ways.
"But, that pressure isn’t going to make me waver. It’s not going to make me abandon my principles or values, and that’s just the way I am.
"That is not new. That isn’t because of President Trump. I’ve got core values and principles I’ve held all my life, and they’re irreducible."
WATCH: Theo Usherwood reacts as the Labour Government is accused of cashing in on rising fuel prices
Yvette Cooper says Iran 'cannot hold the global economy hostage'
Yvette Cooper said Iran "cannot hold the global economy hostage" as she arrived in Paris for key talks with her international counterparts, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Foreign Secretary said there needed to be a "swift resolution" to the conflict, as she condemned the "egregious aggression" towards Gulf states from Iran.
Dozens of Labour MPs write to Keir Starmer demanding party waters down Net Zero commitments
Dozens of Labour MPs have written to Sir Keir Starmer and three Cabinet members demanding the Government looks at watering down its Net Zero commitment to drive sales of electric vehicles amid fears UK carmakers might have to shed jobs.
Mansfield MP Steve Yemm told GB News' Chopper's Political Podcast up to 40 Labour MPs, more than one in 10 of all Labour MPs, had written to the ministers urging a rethink of targets to end all sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Car makers were having to discount the sales of new electric vehicles to hit an ever-increasing proportion of sales.
Armed Forces Minister issues dire warning over geopolitical landscape
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns has warned that the geopolitical landscape is "more fractious and dangerous" than at any point during his 24 years in the military.
The former Royal Marine said that the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran had increased the chances of a "geographical constrained conflict in the next three to five years."
The Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak told the BBC: "I think we’re moving into, and I’ve been on the record in saying this previously, that the chances of a geographical constrained conflict in the next three to five years are probably higher than in my whole 24 years in the military.
"The world geopolitically is exceptionally fragile. We’ve now seen this war break out in the Middle East and involve 10 different countries with Iran striking city centres, ports, airports, and indeed countries far flung around the Middle East.
"We’ve also got this major conflict in Ukraine. So I would say that it’s probably more fractious and dangerous than it has been in my entire military life."
Northern Labour MP mocked by tutors at Oxford and asked if he drinks cups of gravy because of Yorkshire accent
Luke Charters reflects on being mocked for his accent through his life | GB NEWSA state-school-educated Labour MP from the north of England has told how he toned down his broad Yorkshire accent and was mocked by tutors at Oxford University.
Luke Charters, who had a successful career at the Bank of England before entering Parliament in 2024 as MP for York Outer, said he had been forced to water down his accent at Mansfield College because of the mockery it attracted.
Angela Rayner 'to launch her own podcast in all-new tilt to oust Keir Starmer'
Angela Rayner is set to launch the podcast
| PAAngela Rayner is set to launch a podcast in an attempt to broaden her appeal for a potential Labour leadership contest, according to reports.
In the pilot episode of the podcast, named Beyond the Bubble, Ms Rayner will interview former minister Lord Gove.
Both Lord Gove and Ms Rayner have served as Housing Secretaries - and the episode will have a focus on housing policy.
They may also be able to bond over how they backed laws to give leaseholders and renters more rights while in office.