Sadiq Khan hits back at London critics as homicide stats revealed ｜ Full Ridge and Frost interview

Now, London has recorded its lowest number of homicides, murders in over a decade, according to new figures released by the Metropolitan Police. The force said there were 97 killings in the capital last year, falling from 109 in 2024. Here with me to discuss this is the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan. Very good morning to you, Sir Sadiq. Good morning. I guess talking about murder statistics, you never say they're pleasing, but this is not bad relative to what some might have expected. Well, as far as I'm concerned, one homicide is one death too many. One victim of violent crime is one too many. But even our harshest critics will have to accept the progress we've made is quite remarkable. The lowest number of murders in London ever on a per capita basis since records began. The fewest number of under-25s killed this century. The fewest number of teenagers killed in three decades. And we've had a sustained focus on a public health approach, being tough on crime, on enforcement, supporting the police, doubling investment from City Hall, and tough on the complex causes of crime, early intervention and prevention by setting up England's first violence reduction unit, giving young people positive things to do. Youth clubs, youth workers, mentors, after school clubs, holiday schemes, and it's making a difference. As you said, one is too many, but 97 last year, down 11% from the year before, and the lowest since 2014. What would you say to people, both domestically but almost perhaps more strikingly abroad, that frame the situation as very different from that? Well, we've seen politicians and commentators spam social media feeds with a stream of distortion and untruths. What is the evidence? The evidence is that we are, on objective criteria, the number one city in the world for tourism, for culture, for sports, for universities, for foreign direct investment, and now we're one of the safest, if not the safest cities in the world when it comes to homicide. We are safer than Paris, than Milan, than Rome, than Brussels, than Berlin, twice, more than two and a half times safer than New York, five times safer than LA, 12 times safer than Chicago. Every US state has a higher homicide rate than London, and I think those that spread lies and misinformation have got a problem with London. What is their problem with London? In my view, we are a city that is liberal, that is progressive, that is diverse, that is successful. They hate that. I think you're pointing out with those comparisons at the number of homicides per 100,000 people, which, as you say, we stack up as you outlined. Of course, that's not the only type of crime. Are you disappointed by the scale of, again, it's not really petty crime, I don't mean to use that phrase because it's worse than that, but people having their smartphones stolen, people not paying fares on buses, on the tube. That has risen a lot and is still work to be done? Listen, all crime should be taken seriously. What we've seen is because most of our funding historically came from central government, the consequences of 14 years' worth of cuts, when you have your phone stolen, all your personal stuff's in there, your photographs, your contacts, it's really distressing. So we've taken action to tackle personal robbery of phones. We've seen a reduction of 15%. We've got to make more progress. What the police have done is an operation reckoning, targeting international, serious organised crime groups. Most of these phones that are stolen end up overseas. So we're taking action to reduce personal robbery. We've seen a 25% reduction in the thefts, by the way, over the last period. We're also trying to implore the phone companies to do much more. Why can't there be a kill switch so a phone stolen is useless? Why can't we deny access to the cloud of a stolen phone? So we're taking tough action to bear down on this, but also lobbying the phone companies to do more as well. I mean, you can't claim credit for improving statistics on the murder rate, and then blame both the Tories and the phone companies for worsening statistics in another area. Well, what I'm talking about is the progress we've made in terms of phone thefts. A 15% reduction in personal robbery, 25% reduction in thefts, but I'm explaining one of the drivers. One of the drivers is, if you steal a phone, it's got a sustainable value. I'll give you an example of where we've worked with manufacturers. Think about car stereo thefts, or tom-toms. Just for a moment, because I do think it's a problem often in devolution here, when you have a central government and a mayor of the same city, they say we're working together, and when you don't, it goes otherwise. You can't blame the Tories for 14 years of underspend in one area where statistics aren't improving, and then pat yourself on the back for where they are improving. Let me explain why I can point the finger at the Conservatives. So we've lost a third of our core grant from central government, a third. So I'm having to fund the police more than was previously the case. Previously, the mayor would fund the Met Police Service about 19%. The rest came from central government, and I've funded them 25%. I've more than doubled the investment in the Met Police Service because we're trying to fill this massive hole left by the previous government. The good news, the new government in the first year gave us more funding in one year in terms of the uplift than the previous government did in the last eight years, but we need more support from central government, and more support from central government will make a difference in terms of our ability to fight more crime. I wanted to talk about the idea of balance within the police force, of confronting various different types of crimes. Since December, the Met have started to arrest people who use the phrase globalise the intifada. Do you agree with that step? I do. Can I just explain this? My message to Londoners and those across the country is park for a second what the criminal law is. It is breaking the criminal law. Actually, do you really want your neighbours who may be Jewish, your friends who may be Jewish, your colleagues who may be Jewish being scared? That's what's happened over the last three years is a heightened fear amongst Jewish people. Now, yes, you may be breaking the law and you'll be arrested, but actually, let's not even go there. If you are cognisant that what you're saying is causing concern to your neighbours, don't say it. There are other ways to make your views heard loudly and clearly about what's happening in Gaza and the West Bank. This change of approach by the Met was, I think, from December only. As a reaction, is it fair to say, to what happened in Bondi in Australia? Whatever the trigger was for them, should it have happened sooner, whether that would be in reaction to what happened in Manchester or to the point you're making, just because of the way it makes people feel? I think one of the joys of living in a democracy is free speech, right? And that free speech includes the right to offend. My point is, actually, it's not simply causing offence, it's causing people to cower and be scared to come into the centres of our city. So if you're at a protest and you're allowed to do so, as long as it's lawful, peaceful and safe, do so. But just be respectful of your neighbours. There's a separate point about the police enforcing the law without fear or favour. They're damned if they do and they're damned if they don't. And that's why I think this clear guidance from both the Greater Manchester Police and the Met Police Commissioner is really useful. If somebody's flirting with language that's clearly anti-Semitic and almost definitely criminal, don't do it. Just finally, I wanted to ask, have you spoken on the phone to your counterpart in New York since he took office, Zoran Mamdani? We message regularly and stuff, and it brings a smile to my face talking about how Zoran is going to do a great job, I think, in the second greatest city in the world, in trying to make the progress we've made in London. Do you have tips for him? You've faced a lot of criticism from Donald Trump. Do you have tips for him on how to deal with that? I guess it's more important for him to deal with that criticism because he has to work with it. He doesn't need advice from me. He's going to be a great mayor, I'm sure. I've got on really well with all the mayors of New York. It's our nearest competitor and friend and colleague as a city. What I would say to anybody is, look, whether you're nine years old, whether you're 14 years old, whether you're older, don't let bullies win. Are you going to run again? Listen, my last election was nearer than my next one, so ask me again in a year's time. Yeah, I thought you might say that. I don't know how many more times I could push you, but I guess it's not a commitment to run again yet. Listen, I love being the mayor of this great city. It's the best job I've had, full stop, forget, in politics. I'm enjoying being able to make the progress we're making, whether it's on dealing with crime or tourism or culture or foreign direct investment or other great things we're doing in London. So, Sadiq, great to see you. Thanks for stopping by.