Tories delete Sadiq Khan attack ad showing New York rather than London
The Conservative Party has deleted an attack ad on Labour featuring scenes from New York despite the video being about London.
The clip posted on X attacking London Mayor Sadiq Khan used footage of a stampede in a New York subway station.
The ad in support of Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall was quickly withdrawn and replaced with a video where the New York scenes had been cut.
Mr Khan told the PA news agency: “I’ve been speaking to Londoners today and listening to them, many of them have seen the original video put out by my Conservative opponent, by the Conservative Party.
“They’re disgusted that the Conservatives will try and mislead Londoners.
“It beggars belief that you’ve got somebody aspiring to be the mayor of this great city talking down this great city, but using lies, misinformation but also images and pictures from another country, another city.
“My worry is we’re going to have six weeks of this, another divisive campaign where the Tories spread lies, misinformation.
“What I’d say in a respectful way to the Tories and my Tory opponent is, stop it.”
Ms Hall is running against Labour incumbent Mr Khan in the London mayoral election on May 2.
The video was re-uploaded with the New York footage removed:
In the original black-and-white video, the scenes of a stampede at New York’s Penn Station in 2017 were overlaid with an ominous US-accented narrator saying: “A 54% increase in knife crime since the Labour Mayor seized power has the metropolis teetering on the brink of chaos.
“And in the chaos, people seek a desperate reprieve.”
The video also warned of “squads of Ulez-enforcers dressed in black, faces covered with masks, terrorising communities at the beck and call of their Labour Mayor master, who has implemented a tax on driving, forcing people to stay inside or go underground.
“Gripped by the tendrils of rising crime, London citizens stay inside.
“The streets are quiet.”
Mr Khan took office in 2016 and is seeking an unprecedented third term in office.
The Conservatives have been contacted for comment.
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Comments about Sadiq Khan by former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became the centre of a row last month, after Mr Anderson said "Islamists" had “got control” of Mr Khan and that the mayor had “given our capital city away to his mates.”
Mr Anderson was subsequently suspended, and has since defected to the Reform UK party.
On Monday Mr Khan pledged not to expand the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) scheme if he returns to the role after May’s election.
In a letter to London’s transport commissioner Andy Lord, Mr Khan wrote that he had “categorically” ruled out the introduction of a pay-per-mile scheme as well as any tightening of Ulez emissions standards.
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