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Barnet Labour councillors slam Susan Hall attack on “friend and ally” Sadiq Khan

The group said the mayoral candidate’s claim that Jewish Londoners were “frightened” of the Labour mayor was “islamophobic signalling” reports David Floyd

Susan Hall will challenge Sadiq Khan (credit LDRS)
Susan Hall will challenge Sadiq Khan (credit LDRS)

Jewish Labour councillors have criticised the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London after she used a conference speech to say that Jewish Londoners were “frightened” of Sadiq Khan.

In a speech at a Conservative Friends of Israel meeting at the party’s annual conference in Manchester this week, Hall said that she knew “how frightened some of the community is” of the “divisive” mayor before asking for help to defeat him in next year’s election.

Responding to the comments in a letter to Barnet Post, the group of nine Barnet councillors described the mayor as “a friend and ally” during recent struggles against antisemitism in The Labour Party saying: “We will always be grateful for his support through those difficult years.” 

They added: “Which is why we have been outraged by Cllr Susan Hall’s insinuation that the Jewish community is fearful of Sadiq. It appears to us that this is a clear example of islamophobic signalling.” 

In 2018, the mayor criticised Jeremy Corbyn for his approach on antisemitism, describing the then Labour leader as: “a man who allows antisemitism to run rife in his own party.” 

Susan Hall’s comments were rejected by the largest communal Jewish organisation the Board of Deputies of British Jews which said that Khan had “treated our community with friendship and respect” and were also condemned by Conservative minister Nusrat Ghani, who accused her of using “the language of fear”.


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