Brexit leader Nigel Farage has called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to “spend less time grandstanding” about U.S. President Donald Trump and “more time tackling epidemic levels of knife crime in London”.
The MEP’s interventions follow the release of shocking data from the Mayor of London’s Police and Crime Office, revealing that knife crime, gun crime, theft, burglary, rape, homicide, and other serious crimes have all risen dramatically during his time in office.
Speaking on his LBC radio show, Mr. Farage blasted: “As it’s New Year, about what happened in London on New Year’s Eve: There were five separate knife attacks that took place in the capital that night, resulting in the deaths of four young people.
“That’s 80 people who died in London through knife crime in London in 2017 alone. It is a rise of 31 per cent, year on year, from the previous figures. And you know, it isn’t just knife crime – all other forms of violent crime are rising very rapidly in London indeed.
“And I think that when Sadiq Khan the mayor of London, talks about these things he tends to talk in platitudes. I would advise a bit less attacking Donald Trump and other world leaders you don’t like, and we need some real tough community action.
“I’m not saying we can solve knife crime, but I think generally, the feeling is we’re not, frankly, doing quite enough to stop it.”
In just 12 months, homicides in London rose by 27.1 per cent; youth homicide jumped 70 per cent; serious youth violence was up 19 per cent; and robbery leapt by 33.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, Mr. Khan has used his time in office to fly to New York to team up with the city’s liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio, to campaign against the election of Donald J. Trump.
During a public appearance with Mr. de Blasio, he said terror attacks were “part and parcel” of living in a major city, and since the meeting, London has overtaken New York as one of the most dangerous major cities in the Western World.
Mr. Khan has also claimed that Mr. Trump is not “welcome” in London, implying that the president is bigoted and his “values” are out of step with those of Londoners.
Just last month, the London mayor revealed he would be hiking council taxes for all residents of the city, claiming he is “left with no choice in order to help keep Londoners safe”, whilst blaming government cuts to police budgets for the shortage of cash.
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