Cameron faces backlash over comments about Sadiq Khan

Prime Minister David Cameron has been labelled a “racist” for accusing the Labour Party candidate for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, of having associations with a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) group.

During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Cameron accused Khan of appearing at nine events alongside Sulaiman Ghani, a little-known imam who Cameron said “supports IS”.

Labour MPs shouted “racist” at Cameron, party leader Jeremy Corbyn called the comments “disgraceful” and a Labour source speaking anonymously said it “demeans the office of prime minister” to repeat such allegations.

Cameron responded by saying: “The leader of the Labour party is saying it is disgraceful. Let me tell him, Suliman Gani – the honourable member for Tooting [Sadiq Khan] has appeared on a platform with him nine times. This man supports IS [Islamic State]. I think they are shouting down this point because they don’t want to hear the truth.”

Khan has accused Cameron’s Conservatives of running a “nasty, dog-whistling campaign that is designed to divide London’s communities”.

He admitted on BBC television this week that his work as a human rights lawyer and chairman of one of Britain’s leading civil liberties groups had brought him into contact with some extremists.

“I regret giving the impression I subscribe to their views. I have been quite clear that I find their views abhorrent,” Khan said.

The mayoral candidate race has almost turned into a mud-slinging contest with both sides throwing nasty accusations at each other. The Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith recently claimed Khan, a Muslim, wouldn’t tackle crime well as he “provided cover for extremists”.

Despite the Conservative Party’s attempts to derail Khan’s campaign, experts and opinion polls suggest Khan will be triumphant come the May 5^th elections.

Professor Tony Travers, a politics expert at the London School of Economics (LSE), said that Khan was “clearly a modern, progressive Muslim” and that opponents risked a “backlash” by raising issues which touched on his religion.

While an opinion poll for the London Evening Standard newspaper this month gave Khan a clear lead with 35 percent of first preference votes compared to 27 percent for Goldsmith.