Sadiq Khan has said more about the fighting in Gaza than “black kids getting murdered in London”, James Cleverly has claimed.
The Home Secretary launched into a scathing attack on the mayor and his record of knife crime and policing in the capital, stating that Khan is “asleep at the wheel”.
He also questioned why Khan felt he needed to offer his input on issues deemed by Cleverly to be outside his brief, such as the war in the Middle East.
Cleverly’s comments come just a week before the mayoral election, with polls predicting that Khan will easily win a third term in office.
James Cleverly has slammed Sadiq Khan's policies over knife crime
PA/Getty
“Knife crime [is] coming down across the whole of the UK, except for London,” Cleverly told the Westminster Press Gallery lunch.
“Police numbers [is] going up across the whole of the UK except for, once again, London. The bottom line is the guy has been asleep at the wheel.
“Doing the occasionally punchy social media clip slating Donald Trump when he was president... talking more about Gaza than Black kids getting murdered in southeast London. Unacceptable.”
A spokesman for the London Mayor called the remarks “vile comments about the deaths of children that do not deserve the dignity of a response”.
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Whilst Cleverly was quick to blast Khan, he also failed to praise Conservative candidate Susan Hall, who is currently lagging behind the Labour candidate in the polls.
However, a recent poll by Savanta for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University gave Khan his smallest lead so far, of 13 points.
Questioned about Hall, Cleverly said: “Knife crime is coming down across the whole of the UK, except for London. Police numbers are going up across the whole of the UK except for, once again, London.
“Where is the coverage? This is our capital city. 10million people being failed, unremarked upon largely by the media, and then people turn around and say ‘Oh, Susan hasn’t put herself up for scrutiny’. I don’t buy that.”
A separate YouGov survey last week indicated that Khan's advantage had dropped by six points since February, although he was still 19 points ahead.
Dr Elizabeth Simon of Queen Mary University of London, which commissioned the latest poll, said: “Looking at the geography of London mayoral vote intention paints an interesting picture.
Whilst Cleverly was quick to blast Khan, he also failed to praise Conservative candidate Susan Hall
PA“In our poll, we find that Khan leads Hall by a commanding margin in the boroughs in the North and East of the capital. His lead is 19 percentage points among those living in North London, and 17 percentage points among those living in East London.
“While the race appears to be much tighter in boroughs to the South and West of the capital, with Khan leading by just eight percentage points among those living in South and West London.
“These South and West London boroughs can be seen as key 'battlegrounds' in the final lead-up to the mayoral contest.”