London mayoral candidate condemned for ‘dismissing’ Islamophobia

The Conservative mayoral candidate for London has faced condemnation after claiming that Islamophobic tweets are just “hurty words,” The Times reported on Friday.

Susan Hall, 69, has faced mounting criticism over a series of social media blunders on X, including supporting a tweet that referred to London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, as “our nippleheight mayor of Londonistan.”

Hall responded to the tweet by Katie Hopkins, a controversial media commentator, with the words “thank you Katie.”

The mayoral candidate, a former Conservative leader of the London Assembly, was asked in an interview whether Muslims may find her response to the tweet jarring.

She said: “Jarring is the fact that poor people are having to pay £12.50 a day that they literally cannot afford. That is real. And that isn’t just hurty words.”

Hall was referring to London’s Ulez charge, an environmental tax on vehicle emissions implemented by Khan.

In response to her comments, the Muslim Council of Britain said: “Just as we would not consider antisemitic comments as ‘hurty words,’ nor should we Islamophobia.

“Susan Hall’s comments only demonstrate the hierarchy of racism at play. With a 300 percent rise in Islamophobic hate crimes, our elected representatives have a duty to ensure they are not part of the problem.

“As someone seeking to be the mayor of our capital, and the votes of the many Muslim Londoners who help make this city great, Susan Hall would do well to recognize rather than dismiss Islamophobia.”

Hall’s mayoral campaign suffered a new blow this week after she deleted an online advert that attacked Khan based on footage filmed in New York City instead of London.