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Category: London

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Casey Report

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Casey Report

    The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.

    When I asked the Met to establish this independent review a year ago following a series of shocking scandals involving serving police officers, I was concerned that a serious cultural problem had developed within the Met which was allowing racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour to be downplayed or left unchallenged. The interim findings of this review not only confirm my concerns, but reveal a situation even worse than feared.

    It’s clear the Met’s misconduct system is simply not fit for purpose. I now expect nothing less than every single recommendation of this review to be implemented in full, and quickly. All misconduct allegations must be acted upon, cases must be resolved much faster and the disproportionality in the way allegations are dealt with must be eliminated. The majority of those serving in the Met will be appalled by these latest findings and the decent officers who want to speak out – who have clearly been let down for far too long – must be properly supported.

    As Mayor, I’ve ensured the Met is now set on a path of far-reaching systematic and cultural reform, with the appointment of a new Commissioner who acknowledges the scale of the problems within the Met. I want to assure Londoners that I will continue to hold the Met to account as I support Sir Mark in taking urgent action to reform the culture and systems of the Met and to root out all police officers found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying or harassment.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on the Chancellor’s Economic Statement

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on the Chancellor’s Economic Statement

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.

    With the markets in turmoil, high inflation and interest rates soaring, the Chancellor had no choice but to take immediate action to prevent even more economic chaos. But so much damage has already been done, with Londoners and people up and down the country paying higher mortgage and borrowing costs as a direct result of the Government’s failed approach.

    The Government is also still refusing to take the basic steps required to help those who need the most support during the worst cost-of-living crisis we have seen in decades. I will continue to call on Ministers to provide free school meals to all primary school children, to uplift Universal Credit by inflation and to ensure that the most vulnerable receive a basic amount of free energy this winter. They should also grant City Hall the power to freeze private rents in London, which would save people £3,000 over two years.

    The Chancellor has massively scaled back the Government’s energy bill support scheme. He should now do what should have been done all along – introduce a windfall tax on energy producers to help foot the bill.

    The Chancellor was also wrong to scrap the reintroduction of tax free shopping for tourists. This is something I have repeatedly called for to help boost sales and growth and to make London and the UK a more attractive place for international tourists to visit, bringing in far more money to the Treasury than it costs.

  • Brandon Lewis – 2022 Speech at the Approbation Ceremony for the New Lord Mayor of London

    Brandon Lewis – 2022 Speech at the Approbation Ceremony for the New Lord Mayor of London

    The speech made by Brandon Lewis, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, at the Robing Room at the Palace of Westminster on 17 October 2022.

    My Lord Mayor Elect, I am commanded by His Majesty the King to express His Majesty’s express approval of the choice of the citizens of London in electing you to be Lord Mayor for the coming year.

    I think we’ll all be acutely aware that the last time those words were spoken, it was on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s behalf – and that this will be the first time in living memory that this ceremony has referred to His Majesty the King.

    I am delighted to welcome you, Lord Mayor Elect, as well as your wife and soon to be Lady Mayoress, Felicity and other distinguished guests – to formally convey this message on His Majesty’s behalf.

    Let me also thank the Recorder of London and High Steward of Southwark for his address – and congratulate on him on being one of the few people in public life with a title as long and complicated as mine.

    I would also like to recognise the late Lord Mayor, Vincent Keaveny’s time in office. My late Lord Mayor, your year at Mansion House has been characterised by the theme of “People and Purpose”.

    You have visited countless countries to promote the City and UK legal services, received ministers and ambassadors from around the world, and spoken out on a range of issues – from social mobility to climate change and digital trade.

    As the first Irish citizen to be the Lord Mayor of London, it was no surprise to see you award the Freedom of the City to Ed Sheeran, who is himself of Irish descent. However, I don’t think there could be anything more British than seeing you lead 1,000 people driving sheep over London Bridge! Thank you again for all that you have done for the City of London.

    Now let me turn to the Lord Mayor Elect. Nicholas, I note that you were also born in Ireland – as they say, you wait 692 Lord Mayors for an Irishman and then two come along at once! Your career in the City has spanned more than four decades and your specialism – advising on mergers and acquisitions and raising capital – is indicative of the theme for your year in office: ‘Financing our Future’.

    The Lord Mayor is, of course, an ambassador for British business, financial and legal services – exporting all that is best of our great capital city at home and abroad. I know a focus for you will be how we use capital and expertise to boost our economy.

    My own job as Lord Chancellor is to promote English and Welsh law and the legal services that underpin our economy; and the Government has been very clear that economic growth is our first priority – so, our aims are very much aligned.

    London is, of course, at the heart of that world-beating legal services sector. The facts speak for themselves. Legal services contribute some 29 billion gross value added to our economy each year… Including billions in trade surplus and tax, as well as employing over 350,000 people directly.

    It isn’t just British businesses that benefit from the UK’s legal excellence.

    Companies from around the world carry out their business transactions here in the UK – because of our system’s reputation for probity and predictability. In fact, last year more than half of all commercial cases in the UK were brought by international businesses.

    Our legal services are undoubtedly one of our greatest exports – supporting the growth of global trade and investment not just in London but across the UK. That’s why, through our GREAT Legal Services campaign, we are doing even more to promote the English and Welsh law abroad… and, of course, London as the world’s pre-eminent centre for dispute resolution.

    It’s no coincidence that the largest international law firms in London have between 45% and 65% of their lawyers based outside of the country, demonstrating again that London is at the forefront of the way the world does business.

    But I know another focus for you, Lord Mayor Elect, will be competitiveness. As ever, we have competition – from the likes of the USA, Germany and Singapore among others. Competition is healthy but, particularly in challenging times – a world still recovering from the pandemic, and now rising to immense cost-of-living challenges – it’s crucial that we do everything to stay ahead of the game.

    So, ensuring our legal services continue to keep pace with the rest of the world… That they continue to innovate… and stay at the forefront of new ways of working… Couldn’t be more important. Similarly, we must also make sure that the law evolves to provide certainty on emerging technologies – providing certainty to the businesses that use them.

    As Lord Chancellor, I have pledged to do all I can to support legal innovation. I want the UK to be a global hub for lawtech, in the same way it has been with fintech. And I want to see our regulatory system continue to enable legal innovators to do what they do best – to innovate in the interests of better outcomes. It’s this combination of the two that will enable us to keep our world-leading status.

    My Lord Mayor Elect, I know you share our goals. The City has a long, successful history and the theme for your year in office – ‘Financing our Future’ – is all about promoting both resource and resilience. Your focus on getting capital and expertise in the right places will undoubtedly drive our economy and make us even more competitive.

    As we look ahead, I am convinced that together we can achieve so much for the City of London and for the UK more broadly. I’m looking forward to working in tandem with you to promote UK legal services and get the economy growing again. I think I might give the sheep drive a miss, however!

    I wish you and the future Lady Mayoress well for your year in office. Thank you.

  • Suella Braverman – 2022 Statement on Standards in Policing

    Suella Braverman – 2022 Statement on Standards in Policing

    The statement made by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, on 17 October 2022.

    The public rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from police officers and the vast majority meet this expectation.

    But recently too many high-profile incidents and reports, especially in London, have damaged trust.

    This cannot continue.

    It’s unfair on the public and lets down other serving officers.

    Culture and standards in the police must improve.

    And where an officer has fallen seriously short of these expectations, demonstrable, public action must be taken.

    It’s absolutely vital that the police act to restore trust, return to common sense policing and treat the public and victims with the respect they deserve.

    I welcome the Met Police’s commitment to tackling the issues raised in the Baroness Casey report and hope this review will also help to address underlying concerns.

  • Sam Tarry – 2022 Statement on Deselection

    Sam Tarry – 2022 Statement on Deselection

    The statement made by Sam Tarry, the Labour MP for Ilford South, on 11 October 2022.

    I am utterly crestfallen by the result in the Ilford South selection last night. Not for myself, but for the good people of Ilford who deserve better than to have been at the centre of a manufactured political circus.

    I am extremely concerned about the result, which does not reflect the feeling my campaigners met on the ground talking day in day out to members, or the extensive meticulous data we gathered on the campaign.

    I am taking some time to consider what’s next, but in order to be assured of the integrity of the result I am asking the party to share with me the full information of who cast electronic votes, by what method, and when they were cast, which I understand is available in the ‘anonyvoter’ system.

    In the meantime, I will continue to represent the people of Ilford South the way I have done for the past three years – with integrity, generosity and inclusivity. Thank you to my amazing team of volunteers on the ground who are the best of Ilford.

    Sam.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Support from Londoners for ULEZ

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Support from Londoners for ULEZ

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 10 October 2022.

    Air pollution in our city is contributing to children growing up with stunted lungs and older Londoners developing dementia.

    The ULEZ has already made a big difference – reducing air pollution by nearly half in central London and helping us to tackle the climate emergency. It’s clear that Londoners now want the zone to be expanded given the immense harm air pollution is still causing in our city – from cancer to dementia. Expansion of the ULEZ would lead to five million more people being able to breathe cleaner, less polluted air.

    In making my decision I will carefully consider all responses to the public consultation and Londoners’ views.

    I don’t want us to miss out on any opportunities to protect Londoners from toxic air so that we can continue building a healthier, cleaner and greener London for everyone.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Violence in London

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Violence in London

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 7 October 2022.

    I am committed to tackling violence and building a safer city for all Londoners.

    My approach of being tough on violence through the hard work of our police and tough on the complex causes of violence, is showing signs of progress. Overall, crime continues to fall in London, bucking the national trend, with knife crime with injury for under 25s and gun crime both down. However, it’s clear more needs to be done in partnership to continue making progress.

    Partnership work from prevention to enforcement is vital to tackling violence and the work my VRU does alongside the NHS and its violence reduction programme is a fantastic example of working together to identify opportunities to intervene early to divert young people and help them access positive life opportunities.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Government’s Fiscal Statement

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on the Government’s Fiscal Statement

    The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 23 September 2022.

    The measures in this Budget are not only unfair, but will put public finances on an unsustainable footing, which risks harming our economy for years to come.

    As the country grapples with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, the Chancellor has today prioritised massive unfunded tax giveaways for the wealthy, rather than helping those households that are really struggling.

    There is not enough in today’s Fiscal Statement to help those families and businesses who need support the most.

    Today was a missed opportunity from the Chancellor who could have made a real difference to millions of Londoners by providing free school meals to all primary school children, uplifting Universal Credit and ensuring that the most vulnerable receive a basic amount of free energy. He should also have given me the power to freeze private rents in London, which would save people £3,000 over two years.

    Instead the Government has chosen to bring in an swathe of tax cuts that they admit will disproportionately benefit the most wealthy in society. Londoners who are struggling to make ends meet will be disappointed at the lack of immediate help today.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments Following Disorder Outside Iranian Embassy

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments Following Disorder Outside Iranian Embassy

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 26 September 2022.

    The scenes that took place last night were completely unacceptable. The selfish minority who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest must be brought to justice.

    The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but violence and attacks on our police and communities will never be tolerated. I am in close contact with the Met Commissioner and the police have my full support in pursuing those behind the disorder.

    On behalf of all Londoners, I wish all the officers injured a swift recovery and urge anyone with information on those involved to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Samson Kambalu Artwork on Fourth Plinth

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on Samson Kambalu Artwork on Fourth Plinth

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 28 September 2022.

    I’m delighted that Samson Kambalu’s inspiring sculpture has become the latest to take its place on the Fourth Plinth. Our world-renowned sculpture prize entertains, educates and inspires. Samson is shining a light on an often overlooked part of our country’s history and I’m sure it will encourage discussion about the fight for freedom and equality. As we continue to fight against racism and stand-up for equality across our city and country, it is a message that remains just as important today.