By City AM reporter
Sadiq Khan has said he “can’t unequivocally say” whether knowing about the extent of racism he would face in politics would have put him off becoming involved.
The Mayor of London told the How to Fail podcast that he “let [his] family down” by failing to realise the “animus and hatred” that was to be directed towards him, due to his Muslim faith and Pakistani heritage, once he was elected.
The former Labour MP revealed that police officers accompany him on visits to the cinema and the theatre, saying that this has been “incredibly hard” for his family.
City Hall analysis found the number of incidents of racial abuse targeted at the mayor had increased by 170 per cent last year from 2022.
The report found 317,736 racist messages mentioning Khan had been sent since 2016, as of last summer.
Khan told presenter Elizabeth Day: “It’s hard because I’m being singled out and it’s not fair, but it’s the reality of my job.”
He revealed that his daughters have been the recipients of online abuse directed at him, saying: “Is this really the price you’ve got to pay to be in a position of power and influence?”
The mayor, who was recently elected for an unprecedented third term, also reflected on his “failure” to be selected for Surrey County Cricket Club in his childhood, saying that this experience made him realise the “elitism” within the sport.
Khan also discussed football, revealing that he stopped attending matches in the capital due to racial abuse faced both at football games and at Wimbledon.
The mayor said he chose to follow Liverpool because he couldn’t watch London teams live: “It does make me angry in relation to the experiences people have for things outside their control.”
By Felix Armstrong
