London’s Sadiq Khan may soon lose influence over policing in the city — presently one of his key responsibilities — after a reviewer was told to examine stripping the leftist mayor of some of his powers.
The spotlight has fallen on leftist mayor Sadiq Khan’s track record on law and order again, with the Home Office Secretary Priti Patel telling an independent review that they should look at possibly taking away policing powers from the Labour party politician.
While such a loss would no doubt be a blow for the progressive mayor, given responsibility for crime is one of his key competencies, it is possible that Londoners would not mourn it, considering Khan’s woeful track record in regards to curbing crime in the British capital.
According to a report by The Times, Patel commissioned the review which will examine Khan’s powers shortly after the mayor “blindsided” the Home Secretary by ousting the former head of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, after allegations of “misogyny” within her force.
Patel will now have to legally take into account Khan’s opinion regarding the appointment of a replacement for the dumped commissioner, who had not long before been given a two-year contract extension by Patel.
The review will now examine what powers the London mayor should have over local policing, with the person heading the review to focus on whether the mayor’s role should be reduced to help curb the impact politics has on the head of the Met.
This move is reportedly likely to anger officials in London, representing the latest blow in a now extended feud between Patel and Khan.
What’s more, the pair had only recently come to blows over the issue of marijuana decriminalisation after the leftist politician expressed a desire to see an inquest into the legal status of cannabis in Britain.
Seemingly prompted by Khan’s “fact-finding mission” to a pot shop in Los Angeles, the leftist mayor has now vowed to fight for a commission into the decriminalisation of the drug, saying that it would help protect Londoners from drug-related crime.
Such a call prompted a harsh response from Patel, who said Khan had no power to legalise any such illegal drug.
“Sadiq Khan’s time would be better spent focusing on knife and drug crime in London,” the Home Secretary said, taking a swipe at the London mayor, while also saying that drugs “ruin communities, tear apart families and destroy lives”. Khan does not have the power to change the law on drugs, but could instruct his city’s police force to not enforce the rules, creating a defacto legalisation.
While there was highly likely a bit of venom in these words, Patel’s criticism is not unfounded, with Khan having presided over a significant increase in crime in London, with knife attacks in particular becoming endemic in the capital.
The issue has now gotten so bad that it has forced the Home Office head to lift restrictions on controversial “Stop and Search” powers that allow police to frisk an individual should they anticipate that serious violence may occur.
“No one should have to endure the pain and suffering of the victims of these appalling crimes and we have a responsibility to them to do everything in our power to prevent future tragedies,” Patel said regarding the decision, which she hopes will help reduce the number of stabbings in London and beyond.
“I stand wholeheartedly behind the police so that they can build on their work to drive down knife crime by making it easier for officers to use these powers to seize more weapons, arrest more suspects and save more lives,” she went on to say.