Sadiq Khan

Greens Back Aspire’s Legal Action to Stop London Mayor Cutting Affordable Homes

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https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/24/greens-back-legal-action-to-stop-london-mayor-cutting-affordable-homes/

David P Maynard | Marissa Davison/Reuters

Green party-controlled councils have joined a high court legal challenge led by the Aspire party to stop London mayor Sadiq Khan slashing affordable housing in the city. 

Hackney and Lewisham councils, which Zack Polanski’s party took control of following the 7 May elections, have joined the Aspire-run Tower Hamlets council in its bid to stop Khan from cutting the city’s affordable housing quota from 35% to 20%. 

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Khan said in 2016 that more than 50% of new homes in London should be affordable, but later the same year allowed private developers to limit affordable housing in new developments to 35%.

His plan to further reduce the quota comes amid an escalating housing crisis in the city, where the cost of rent is a major driver of poverty and child homelessness. 

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See the original article at https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/24/greens-back-legal-action-to-stop-london-mayor-cutting-affordable-homes/

Continue ReadingGreens Back Aspire’s Legal Action to Stop London Mayor Cutting Affordable Homes

Palantir to sue Sadiq Khan over blocked £50m Met police contract

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/09/palantir-sue-khan-blocked-met-contract

Sadiq Khan had blocked the deal and suggested Palantir had been the only contender for the Met’s AI contract. Photograph: Michael Bowles/Shutterstock

US spy-tech company to challenge London mayor’s intervention after he raised concerns over breach of procurement rules

Palantir intends to sue the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after he blocked a contract between the US spy-tech firm and the Metropolitan police.

The Met had planned to use Palantir’s software to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, until Khan intervened in late May, sparking a row between the UK’s largest police force and the mayor’s office.

Khan said there had been a breach of procurement rules in the contract and suggested Palantir had been the only contender.

Now the Times has reported that Palantir’s lawyers have written to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime saying they intend to challenge the decision in court. Khan’s office confirmed they had received the letter. Palantir declined to comment for this article.

A spokesperson for Khan’s office said: “The Met did not present its procurement strategy as required and the Met only fully engaged with one potential supplier: Palantir.”

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On Tuesday morning, the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, confirmed the government was conducting a full review of the NHS contract with Palantir, assessing whether to extend the £330m deal or activate a break clause that would allow it to stop using the company’s services in early 2027.

Last week, a parliamentary committee urged the government to trigger a break, calling Palantir’s presence an “unacceptable point of weakness” in a public sector increasingly reliant on a handful of US tech firms.

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/09/palantir-sue-khan-blocked-met-contract

Continue ReadingPalantir to sue Sadiq Khan over blocked £50m Met police contract

Anti-war groups call for Met chief to resign

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-groups-call-met-chief-resign

 Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley gives a statement outside Charing Cross police station, London, after a High Court challenge over the Met Police’s use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology was dismissed, April 21, 2026

ANTI-WAR groups have launched a letter campaign for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley after “openly lying” about Palestine protesters.

Signed by more than 1,300, the letter to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime chief executive Rena Laigie, warned that “Rowley must go.”

Sir Mark claimed that the pro-Palestine march on May 16, which coincided with a far-right demonstration, posed a threat to the public and that it deliberately marched past synagogues.

Stop the War Coalition and other organisers quickly debunked the statements and demanded corrections.

“On 16 May, Mark Rowley allowed a far-right hate march led by known fascist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon to go to Parliament while barring the Palestine movement from the political centre of London,” the letter reads.

“The Metropolitan Police has failed to act on incidents of Islamophobia and incitement to violence on the far-right demo, while downplaying the size of the Palestine mobilisation.

“Commissioner Rowley’s role as a politically neutral head of the Metropolitan Police has become untenable. We call on Rowley to resign his post immediately.”

The letter can be signed on actionnetwork.org.

The Met Police declined to comment.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-groups-call-met-chief-resign

Continue ReadingAnti-war groups call for Met chief to resign

Labour split as Sadiq Khan threatens to take government to court over Heathrow expansion

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/heathrow-third-runway-sadiq-khan-london-b2799803.html

London mayor says he will consider ‘all options’ including suing the government

Sir Sadiq Khan has threatened legal action against the government over its controversial plans to allow a third runway at Heathrow.

The London mayor doubled down on his opposition to the plans, warning that it will have a “severe impact” in terms of noise and air pollution and leave Britain’s climate targets in jeopardy.

But the chancellor Rachel Reeves said it was “essential” that the UK increases its airport capacity.

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Rachel Reeves dismisses opposition to the third runway as futile (PA)

Rachel Reeves has already said a challenge to the expansion plans, part of her and Sir Keir’s push to get the economy growing, would fail.

The defiant chancellor said she has “huge respect” for Sir Sadiq, who is one of the most influential figures in the Labour Party, but she said she disagrees with the London mayor and is confident the third runway will go ahead.

Far more of this article at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/heathrow-third-runway-sadiq-khan-london-b2799803.html. I try to avoid featuring the Independent …

Continue ReadingLabour split as Sadiq Khan threatens to take government to court over Heathrow expansion