Sadiq Khan

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

Islamophobic posts about Sadiq Khan more than double in a year, analysis shows

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/mar/25/sadiq-khan-islamophobic-abuse-doubles

New analysis reveals a sharp rise in Islamophobic messages targeting the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, with nearly 28,000 posts last year. Photograph: Steve Taylor/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

Most Islamophobic content referring to London mayor, a prominent voice against online abuse, was on X

The number of Islamophobic posts aimed at Sadiq Khan has more than doubled in a year, according to fresh analysis that suggests the London mayor remains a lightning rod for racist abuse.

Almost 28,000 social media posts referring to Khan included a key Islamophobic phrase last year, a huge increase on the 12,000 sent a year earlier and a more than eight-fold increase from 2022, according to the analysis commissioned by the Greater London authority (GLA).

This year, Khan has already been mentioned alongside Islamophobic keywords 2,180 times. The vast majority of abuse was posted on X, with a record number of posts referring to Khan posted from the UK in the past year. The research found that 89% of the offending Islamophobic posts about Khan since 2015 had originated on the platform.

Khan has been one of the most prominent voices speaking about online abuse, warning that the west must now face up to a “century-defining challenge” after a resurgence of the far right. He has criticised X’s owner, Elon Musk, whom he blames for making the problem of online abuse far worse. Under Musk, the accounts of far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson have been reinstated.

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/mar/25/sadiq-khan-islamophobic-abuse-doubles



Continue ReadingIslamophobic posts about Sadiq Khan more than double in a year, analysis shows

London air pollution down since Ulez extended to outer boroughs, study finds

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/07/london-air-pollution-down-since-ulez-expansion-study

Ulez has improved London’s air quality across the board. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Levels of deadly pollutants have dropped, with significant improvements in capital’s most deprived areas

People in London have been breathing significantly cleaner air since the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez), a study has found.

Levels of deadly pollutants that are linked to a wide range of health problems – from cancer to impaired lung development, heart attacks to premature births – have dropped, with some of the biggest improvements coming in the capital’s most deprived areas.

Sadiq Khan had faced severe opposition to the 2023 expansion of Ulez to outer London boroughs. But on Friday as the report was published, the mayor of London said the scheme had driven down pollution, taken old polluting cars off the roads and brought cleaner air to millions more people.

He said: “When I was first elected, evidence showed it would take 193 years to bring London’s air pollution within legal limits if the current efforts continued. However, due to our transformative policies we are now close to achieving it this year.”

Several outer London councils mounted unsuccessful legal challenges to the Ulez rollout, and Keir Starmer blamed it for Labour’s defeat in the Ruislip and Uxbridge byelection and called for Khan to “reflect” on his plans.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/07/london-air-pollution-down-since-ulez-expansion-study

Continue ReadingLondon air pollution down since Ulez extended to outer boroughs, study finds