Khan Admits He Hasn’t Spoken to London’s Murder Epidemic Families

Sadiq Khan has admitted failing to meet any families bereaved by London’s recent murder spree, as well as refusing to apologise for not making any public appearances as Mayor until Thursday, in an interview with LBC.

The Mayor also blamed Tory cuts for the second time, rather than taking responsibility for what is happening in the city he was elected to lead, as well as claiming he can not solve the problem “as mayor”.

London has experienced a 38 per cent spike in knife crime recently, and homicide rates have surged past those in New York this year.

Tories had described Mr. Khan as “missing in action” since the crime wave gathered pace, leaving seven people dead in the capital this week, including a teenage girl gunned down in a ‘drive by’.

Now, the Mayor has given a short, bad-tempered interview to LBC radio, with the station claiming to have been “looking for” him for three days. The first thing the presenter asked was if the Mayor had met the families of the dead.

“I’ve spoken to a number of people over the last few days,” the Mayor said. The presenter asked again: “Have you spoken to any of the bereaved families?”

Mr. Khan replied: “No I haven’t spoken to the bereaved families – but I’ve got a deputy mayor and police commissioner… the point is that we are a team.”

When pushed once more, Mr. Khan continued: “Look, I’m here talking to you and explain some of the things we’re doing.

“I accept there are elections in four or five weeks’ time, and politicians will have an attack – that’s part of politics. But, we’ve got bereaved families, we’ve got two teenagers who have lost their lives just in the last week.”

He did not apologise for being absent during such a turbulent time for the city, and once against blamed central government cuts for the crime wave.

“I’m not going to apologise for making the point, which is the context, of the cuts made over the last few years,” he said, as well as describing it as a “national problem”.

He added: “These are problems that won’t be solved overnight. They won’t be solved by just me the mayor or by the commissioner. We need a concerted government investment in prevention but also enforcement.”