This has been a difficult time for London. Both antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have increased sharply since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, much of it, sadly, in our city.
Frontline police officers are trying their best, but the Met has not done enough to help people feel safe. Not when Jewish people are being attacked near pro-Palestine marches, or when staff at a Palestinian takeaway in central London get so many death threats they are too frightened to go into work.
Appalling threats have been made against MPs and their staff, to the point that Mike Freer is standing down in Finchley and Golders Green as a direct result of the abuse. An antisemitic, genocidal slogan was projected onto the Houses of Parliament, apparently without consequence.
It is shameful and it has to stop. 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. We should never fuel division and we should always be careful about our language. If you make a mistake, as we all do, you should own it and apologise.
Sadiq Khan’s faith is one of his positive characteristics, not something to be suspicious of
I may be one of Mayor 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.
People should be far more interested in his actions in office and his policies, which is what I believe should disqualify him from winning another term. We should focus on how we fix the problems on our streets.
The Met Police remain in special measures, which means it is still failing to meet the standards required. It has not had the resources that it needs, which is why I have been making the case for a £200 million investment from City Hall, money that is available and needs to be deployed urgently. The police need to have the backing to crack down on hatred, including taking a more serious look at what is happening at the protests. I don’t accept the argument that they should sit back when “from the river to the sea” is chanted. And far more work needs to be done on community cohesion. Part of why I want to bring back borough-based policing is to ensure that police officers are closer to local communities.
At the end of the day, no matter our backgrounds or our political beliefs, we are all part of the same London community. All of us are privileged to live in a free and open democracy, where people are allowed to have different opinions.
We should celebrate our diversity and tolerate each other when we have differences of opinion. That is what London has always been about. As politicians we must all act responsibly, especially during challenging times.
