Mayor: I need 24/7 protection from racists

THE Mayor of London has expressed his disappointment that he is forced to have 24/7 protection because of the “colour of his skin and the god he worships”.

Sadiq Khan told Labour activists in Brighton yesterday that he had initially dismissed the suggestion of adopting a security detail when he was elected mayor in 2016.

However, he accepted police protection when he was warned of the risk of those around him – including his family and his staff – if he declined. The Labour mayor, the son of a Pakistani bus driver and a practising Muslim, indicated his heritage and religion were frequently cited in threats against him.

Revealing that a team of 15 police officers keep him safe “around the clock”, he said it was the example set by footballers speaking out against racist abuse that inspired him to be forthright about his own situation.

“I’m not going to allow these racists and these Islamophobes to intimidate me, and I’ll never bow to them,” he said.

“The mayor of the greatest city in the world needs protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week because of the colour of his skin and the god he worships. That can’t be right.”

He also disclosed that his staff had been offered counselling to deal with the “vitriol” levelled at him.

His intervention came after he faced criticism for driving in a convoy of three cars from his home to Battersea Park, a journey of 4.5 miles, to take his dog Luna for a walk. The arrangement was made on police advice, he said, adding that coverage about security arrangements “leads to threatening emails”.