Sadiq Khan has launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump, describing the US president as “racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic” after Mr Trump used a speech at the United Nations to call the London mayor “terrible” and claim the city was being steered towards “sharia law”.
Mr Khan’s response came after Mr Trump’s remarks on Tuesday night, which provoked anger among Labour figures. Health secretary Wes Streeting praised Mr Khan as someone who “stands up for difference of background and opinion”. However, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden stopped short of commenting on the remarks about Mr Khan personally, instead defending London’s reputation as a global city.
In his address to the UN general assembly, Mr Trump said: “I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that.” The two have been at odds since 2015, when Mr Khan criticised Mr Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from travelling to the US.
Pressed on the “terrible, terrible mayor” description, Mr Khan pointed to record numbers of American visitors and investors in London. “Since records began, there’s only been a period where more Americans have come to London. There must be a reason for that,” he said, adding: “I’m really proud we are the greatest city in the world.”
The mayor subtly criticised senior Labour figures, including the prime minister, for not directly calling out Mr Trump’s rhetoric. He said that with the UK-US “special relationship”, akin to a best friend, “you should expect more from them” and “you’ve got the confidence to call them out when they’re wrong”. He added: “I think President Trump is wrong in many, many ways.”
Other politicians reacted to the row. Green party leader Zack Polanski praised Mr Khan’s response as “exactly what the leader of a diverse and vibrant city like London should say”, while Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan said the US ambassador should be “summoned and challenged”. Nigel Farage, however, said Mr Trump was right that sharia law “is an issue” in London, adding: “Never take what he says literally, ever on anything. But always take everything he says seriously.”
