Sadiq Khan hits back at Donald Trump amid row over crime 'misinformation'

In the long-running war of words between City Hall and the White House, Donald Trump had accused Sir Sadiq of wanting to "go to sharia law", saying he was a "terrible, terrible mayor."

Now, Mr Khan cited data from the mayor’s office for policing and crime, which compare the 12 months ending in August with the previous 12 months, which showed a reduction across all 32 of London's boroughs.

The London Mayor told The Independent: "We’ve seen a number of politicians, here and across the globe, talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.

"The evidence is clear: our approach to tackling crime, and its complex causes, works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.

"Violent crime with injury is down in every single London borough, and that is testament to the incredible work of our brave police officers, who are arresting more than 1,000 additional suspects each month, and solving crimes that involve victims at double the rate they were a year ago.

"This is alongside the prevention work in our communities, led by London’s violence reduction unit, which has delivered over 450,000 positive opportunities and activities to divert young people away from violence and exploitation."

The new data showed there were 8,749 fewer crimes that resulted in someone being hurt.

This was a drop of just under 12 per cent across all 32 London Boroughs over the year ending in August.

Havering recorded the largest drop, with this type of crime down by 16.3 per cent, followed by Enfield in north London, where it fell by 16.1 per cent.

At the other end of the table, Greenwich saw the smallest decrease, with 4.3 per cent, followed by Kensington and Chelsea, with a drop of 4.6 per cent.

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Reacting to the news, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Rachel Williams said: "Violence with injury is down in every single borough, a clear sign that our approach is making a difference.

"Homicide is now at its lowest level in a decade, violent crime resulting in injury has fallen, and firearms discharges are less than half what they were seven years ago.

"We’re targeting the most dangerous individuals, disrupting criminal networks, and investing in prevention to protect those most at risk.

"That’s why fewer people are being hurt, fewer lives are being lost, and London is becoming a safer city.

"We won’t stop until every Londoner feels safe, wherever they live, work, or go to school. We’re committed to listening, learning, and improving, so that our progress is not just sustained but accelerated."

However, disputing the figures, was Leader of the London Conservatives in the Assembly Susan Hall.

She told GB News: "[Khan] doesn’t mention that gun crime is up 8.8 per cent, sexual offences up 9.6 per cent, rape is up 12.6 per cent and Drug trafficking up a staggering 98.4 per cent.

"I could go on but this is all part of the crime statistics. More and more people feel unsafe yet Khan continues to spend our money on 'free' events when he should be putting far more money into the Metropolitan Police.

"To keep Londoners safe should be his top priority, and it clearly isn’t."

In London, homicides are at a 10-year low, with the capital’s rate lower than those of Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Madrid, and all major US cities.

The rate of homicide was down by 17 per cent in the 12-month period to June this year, compared with the 12-month period to May 2016.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data, recorded in the 12 months to March this year, showed that Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violent crime (26.4 offences per 1,000 population) than people across the rest of England and Wales (31.9 offences per 1,000 population).