Churchill’s views were ‘very questionable’, says city mayor
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has waded into the controversy surrounding the legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, branding some of the former Prime Minister’s views “very questionable”.
Mr Khan said that while the wartime leader needed to be looked at in the round, people of his own ethnic origin were aware of the consequences of some of Sir Winston’s policies.
The comments follow controversy sparked by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell when he branded Sir Winston a “villain” because of decisions he took during a Welsh miners’ strike while Home Secretary in 1910.
Mr Khan told LBC yesterday: “In my view, what this has highlighted is that we need to have a more rounded view of everyone.
“Winston Churchill was a remarkable wartime leader. But he wasn’t perfect.
“Somebody of my ethnic origin, in particular, knows some of the consequences of some of his policies and some of his views.
“Let’s talk about... the massive achievement that he had as the leader of our country and the role he played in the Allies defeating
the fascists. But, let’s not pretend he was a perfect individual.
“Even those who have written biographies of Churchill would accept that he was fallible. And some of the views he held, some of the things he did, on hindsight, are very, very questionable.”
Mr Khan’s parents settled in Pakistan following Partition of India, before moving to the UK where he was born.
In a sequence of quick-fire questions from the Politico website, streamed live on the internet, Mr McDonnell was asked: “Winston Churchill. Hero or villain?” He responded with two words: “Tonypandy – villain.”
Many on the Left see Churchill’s reputation as tarnished by events in Tonypandy, where nearly 80 police and 500 civilians were injured and one miner died.
The then-Home Secretary’s responsibility for the clashes is a matter of fierce historical debate, but Mr McDonnell’s response made clear that he held the former PM to blame for deploying soldiers to assist police dealing with riots.
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson – the author of a book on Churchill – said Mr McDonnell should be “ashamed of his remarks and withdraw them forthwith”. “Winston Churchill saved this country and the whole of Europe from a barbaric fascist and racist tyranny and our debt to him is incalculable,” he said.
Churchill was a remarkable wartime leader. But he wasn’t perfect. London Mayor
Sadiq Khan.