LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he needed protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week because of the colour of his skin and the god he worships.
Khan, a practising Muslim and the son of a Pakistani bus driver, told the Labour party’s conference in Brighton that he had initially dismissed the suggestion of adopting security in 2016.
But he later accepted police protection when he was warned of the risk of those around him – including his family and his staff – if he declined, reported The Telegraph.
Khan revealed that counselling was given to his staff because of the vitriol directed at him from letters, emails.
His intervention came after he faced criticism for driving in a convoy of three cars from his home to Battersea Park, a journey of 4.5 miles, to take his dog for a walk, The Telegraph report added.
The travel arrangement was made on police advice, Khan said, adding that press coverage about his security arrangements "leads to people then sending threatening emails".
According to him, 15 police officers are keeping him safe "around the clock".
He said: “You can’t do anything spontaneously. Riding a bike to work, which I do often, is different for me than for you. Using the Tube, which I do, is different for me than for you. Going for a jog . . . it’s hard. Having sniffer dogs in your house is not fun. Not being able to answer your door is hard."
Khan added that he had kept his silence previously about his security arrangements because he did not want to put others off from entering politics.
He said he had been inspired by the response of England footballers to racist abuse.
“The way Marcus Rashford, [Jadon] Sancho, [Bukayo] Saka have talked about it, and the response has given me so much hope. It’s given me the confidence to talk about it myself," Khan was quoted as saying by The Times.
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event