Khan ‘needs to focus on crime and not Brexit’

SADIQ Khan was accused of using Brexit to deflect from the real issues he is facing after bashing the decision to leave the EU in a major speech last night.

The Mayor of London lamented the ‘cost of Brexit crisis’, claimed leaving the EU hit Britain for £140 billion and called for a closer relationship with Brussels.

But his mayoral opponents at this year’s election told him to stop ‘banging on about Brexit’ and focus on cracking down on crime. Yesterday the Mail revealed how the capital has seen more than 1,000 homicides since Mr Khan was elected in May 2016.

In his Mansion House speech last night, the Mayor told business and political leaders that it was ‘obvious’ Brexit wasn’t working and that he could not ‘dodge and duck’ the issue.

He said: ‘It’s incumbent on all of us to have an honest and mature discussion about the best way forward. It’s now obvious that Brexit isn’t working.

‘The hard-line version of Brexit we’ve ended up with is dragging our economy down and pushing up the cost of living. It’s making food more expensive, adding to the acute pressures on households and having an ongoing detrimental impact on industries that are crucial to our success , such as hospitality, construction and financial services.

‘I’d rather not be talking about Brexit again. But part of being the Mayor of London is about standing up for our city. We’ve got to be frank – Brexit is simply not a peripheral concern that we can leave in the past – it’s a key contributor to the cost-of-living crisis right now and it’s resulting in lost opportunities, lost business and lost income at a time when people and companies can least afford it.’

The ‘crisis’ can only be solved through forging a closer relationship with the EU, Mr Khan added.

He also called on the Government to end its so-called ‘vow of silence’ on Brexit’s impact. He accused ministers of ‘trying to will

Brexit into a success’ and ‘ignoring its impact’ on the capital.

Last night Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Is the “vow of silence” on Brexit perhaps because we’ve grown faster than France or Germany since leaving the single market? Or because the IMF say we’ll grow faster than France or Germany from 2025? One thing’s for sure, the economy is doing better than crime in London under Sadiq Khan.’

The Conservative London mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: ‘Sadiq Khan always ends up banging on about Brexit when he gets into trouble. One thousand people have been killed on London’s streets while he has been failing to lead the police, and his unfair Ulez expansion is ripping off families, small businesses and charities.’

Howard Cox, the Reform candidate, said: ‘The London Mayor should butt out of national and international politics and focus on cutting knife crime, housing young people in affordable homes and to stop fleecing drivers.’

‘With his purely cash-grabbing Ulez scheme, he has reduced the capital’s GDP by nearly £1billion per year. So his comments about leaving the EU are not only hypocritical but ill-informed.’

The Mayor’s report, named London’s Economy After Brexit: Impacts and Implications, claimed London’s economy has shrunk by £30 billion since the referendum, with 290,000 fewer jobs.

The research, which cost the taxpayer £55,000, also predicted that £60 billion will be wiped off the value of London’s economy by 2035 if no action is taken.

Mr Khan gave a similar speech at this event last year.