The home secretary James Cleverly criticised Sadiq Khan on Thursday, stating that the mayor of London prioritises discussions on Gaza over addressing knife crime affecting Black youths in southeast London.
However, with just a week remaining until the mayoral election, he refrained from offering praise to Conservative candidate Susan Hall, as reported by The Evening Standard.
“Knife crime is coming down across the whole of the UK, except for London,” Cleverly said during the Westminster Press Gallery lunch.
“Police numbers are 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.”
While Cleverly was quick to commend West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, he failed to acknowledge Hall, the Conservative candidate for London.
Hall's selection stirred controversy and attracted criticism after the former Harrow council leader made several embarrassing gaffes during media appearances.
In February 2020, Hall liked a tweet praising Powell, a former Tory minister known for his infamous 1968 speech warning against immigration. The tweet, discovered by Hope Not Hate, featured Powell with the words: ‘It’s never too late to get London back’, implying a reference to multiculturalism.
Hall has also been accused of endorsing Islamophobic abuse directed at Khan. In one instance, she retweeted a message from far-right activist Katie Hopkins that referred to Khan as ‘the nipple height mayor of Londonistan’ adding, ‘Thank you, Katie!’
According to a Hope Not Hate report, ‘Londonistan’ is a derogatory term used by far-right individuals to make Islamophobic claims about London’s Muslim population.
Cleverly also said that his party’s northern mayors had an “excellent track record” and “the positivity towards them comes out again and again and again”, as reported by the newspaper.
Finally, talking about the Conservative mayoral candidate of London, Cleverly said: “With Susan Hall, I get it, I get it. So people criticising Susan for not putting herself up for scrutiny. Yet radio silence for Sadiq Khan.”
The latest poll shows Khan with a smaller lead over Hall than before, as reported by The Evening Standard. According to the Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London, Khan is at 46 per cent, while Hall stands at 33 percent, a lead of 13 points.
Polls to elect a mayor and 25 London assembly members will be held on 2 May. Ballot papers will be verified on 3 May, and the counting of votes will happen on 4 May.
