London mayor counters US president's criticism

London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has hit back at United States President Donald Trump over his criticism of the United Kingdom capital, and of Khan's leadership.

The mayor, who has been in office since 2016 and who is now in his third term, was born in the UK to Pakistani parents and Trump has frequently attacked him for being a "terrible mayor", for allowing crime to go "through the roof", and for leading a city that wants to "go to sharia law".

Khan hit back this week by urging UK diplomats to counter the "disinformation" and the "lies and propaganda".

GB News quoted him as saying the UK capital, while not perfect, remains safer than US counterparts.

"So, it is really important to counter the propaganda coming from President Trump," he said. "It is just a fact that London is far safer than not just any major city in the United States of America, but any state in the United States of America. And it is just a fact that, since records began, there have never been more Americans coming to London to study, as tourists, to invest, or to live here. So, it's really important to remind people how great London is. But also to rebut the lies and the nonsense that come from America, not least from the president."

Khan said, contrary to Trump's claims about crime being rampant in London, the city currently has the lowest homicide rate seen since records began. And phone-snatching, which had been a major problem in the past, has become less common, he added.

Khan also lamented the fact that social media was being used to "amplify hate".

Reuters reported that a White House spokesperson responded by saying "left-wing policies ... have made once-great cities like London unrecognizable". And a spokesman for Trump said the president had been "rightfully warning European leaders that Western civilization will continue to erode, if they don't quickly reverse course".

Khan's comments followed Trump claiming in 2019 that London needed a "new mayor ASAP", and that Khan's leadership would "only get worse".

Khan said in 2016 that Trump's plan to block people from some Muslim-majority countries from visiting the US was "outrageous". And he also infuriated Trump in 2018, when he allowed protesters to fly a balloon over London that depicted the president as a crying baby in a nappy. Last year, Khan described Trump's claim that sharia law was coming to London as "appalling and bigoted".

Khan made his latest comments on Tuesday, during a meeting at the UK's Foreign Office that was attended by officials from the US, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan, as well as by representatives from London's Metropolitan Police.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com