Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall united on Monday to issue a call for zero-tolerance of racism in the London mayoral election battle.
The Labour and Tory rivals both condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia as the storm grew over Lee Anderson’s “Islamists” rant against the Mayor of London.
Together they sent out a powerful message that “fear, division and hatred” must be defeated and that “no matter our backgrounds or our political beliefs, we are all part of the same London community”.
They spoke out as MPs returned to Westminster following the ugly and chaotic scenes in the bust-up last week over a vote on a Gaza ceasefire.
With tensions running high, the Mayor wrote in the Standard: “We are facing some very difficult times, with the politics of extremism, division and blame becoming more mainstream.
“But I remain hopeful — because I know that the decent majority in our city and country believe in our British values of equality, openness and respect for diversity. That’s why I’m confident that, working together, we will be able to stamp out antisemitism and Islamophobia, stop the march of hard-Right populism, and show that hope, unity and love will always trump fear, division and hatred.”
Stressing the rise in antsemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes since the Hamas October 7 terror attack, which was followed by Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza, Mrs Hall said: “For those of us lucky enough to serve the public as elected representatives, it is our responsibility to calm tensions and try to unite people. At the end of the day, no matter our backgrounds or our political beliefs, we are all part of the same London community.
“We should celebrate our diversity and tolerate each other when we have differences of opinion. That is what London has always been about.”
Responding to Mr Anderson’s “Islamists” outburst against Mr Khan, she added: “I may be one of Sadiq Khan’s biggest critics, but I also see the monstrous abuse he gets as one of the country’s most prominent Muslim politicians.
“No one should have to put up with that, and I wholly condemn anyone who does it or fuels it. His faith is one of his positive characteristics, not something to be suspicious of.”
Speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire, Rishi Sunak said Mr Anderson’s comments were “wrong” and not “acceptable”.
He was suspended as a Tory MP after failing to apologise. The former party deputy chairman caused outrage by alleging that the Mayor had given “our capital city away to his mates”.
He added: “I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan, and they’ve got control of London.”
He doubled down on his criticism of Mr Khan on Monday and again refused to apologise for his remarks. He said they “may have been clumsy” but “when you think you are right you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”
A second Cabinet minister, Transport Secretary Mark Harper, on Monday morning refused to condemn the rant as either Islamophobic or racist, describing it instead as “wrong”. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden yesterday said he disagreed with the language, but did not believe the Ashfield MP had been “intending” to be Islamophobic.
Mr Khan accused the Tory Party of “a strategy to weaponise anti-Muslim prejudice for electoral gain” and of resorting to an “age-old tactic often used by the far-Right: pick on a minority group to manufacture an enemy to garner support”. The Conservative Party rejected these accusations.
Some senior Tories including former chancellor Sir Sajid Javid and ex-justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland denounced Mr Anderson’s comments as “repugnant” and “racist”.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has apologised for how the Gaza debate unravelled and has agreed for the Scottish National Party be given another one.
