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Sadiq Khan has claimed Nazis have infiltrated protests against the expansion of the controversial Ulez scheme.
The Mayor of London said that ‘anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, conspiracy theorists and Nazis’ had joined ‘decent Tories’ in opposing the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone across the capital.
Mr Khan had sparked fury after branding some Ulez opponents ‘far-Right’ at a public meeting earlier this month.
Asked about his earlier comments, he told The Daily Telegraph: ‘I’m quite clear, outside Ealing Town Hall there were people holding up swastika banners. My worries are they are latching on to decent Tories, to decent people, who oppose the Ulez expansion.
‘You need to understand that their opposition has been latched on to by anti-vaxxers, by Covid deniers, conspiracy theorists and Nazis.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, pictured at Piccadilly in London on March 21, has claimed Nazis have infiltrated demonstrations against his expansion of the Ulez to all of Greater London
However he added that many others opposed the Ulez expansion for good reasons and wanted to talk about these concerns and address them over the coming weeks.
On the night after the incident in Ealing earlier this month, the Mayor tried defending his planned expansion of the Ulez in the capital.
But referring to a group of protesters outside the event, he said: ‘Let’s be frank. Some of those outside are part of the far-Right. Some are Covid deniers. Some are vaccine-deniers. And some are Tories.’
Audience members shouted back: ‘We are not the far-Right – normal people are not the far-Right.’
His comments sparked outrage, with Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands calling for him to be voted out in the next election.
He said: ‘These are awful comments from the London Mayor, smearing anti-Ulez voices like this. I am not surprised the audience in Ealing pushed back. We need to vote Mayor Khan out next May.’
But that evening, Labour MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy tweeted a picture of a poster with Mr Khan’s face and a swastika on it, which said Mr Khan was ‘saving the planet by taxation’.
And Mr Lammy wrote in the post: ‘Disgusting placards including swastikas at this march outside People’s Question Time in Ealing tonight.
‘The @CityHallTories should be ashamed of promoting this march which looks like it’s been coordinated by the far right. We will not let them divide us.’
Hecklers shouted down London Mayor Sadiq Khan at a public meeting in Ealing, West London, on March 2 after he branded some Ulez opponents ‘far-Right’ and ‘Covid deniers’
The following day, Labour MP and Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry tweeted: ‘The far-Right came to the Mayor’s People’s Question Time last night, bringing a coffin and at least one swastika with Sadiq Khan’s face on it.
‘London Tories should condemn not condone this and never forget they have already run one shamefully racist campaign against @MayorofLondon.’
The Ulez zone currently covers inside the North and South Circular roads, but the Mayor intends to expand it to cover all of Greater London on August 29.
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Under the policy, owners of non-compliant vehicles are charged £12.50 a day to drive inside the zone.
The plan has come up against opposition with critics arguing it does little to improve air quality and will have a dire impact on families and tradespeople who rely on their cars.
Even some London Labour MPs have opposed it, warning it could price key workers and others who rely on their vehicles out of the city.
Mr Khan made the comments in response to an audience member who asked: ‘Your Ulez is going to put young people like me further away from London – how is that going to help businesses, how is that going to help charities and shops?’
At one point the audience’s jeers became so loud the chair had to intervene and warn that the meeting might have to be broken up.
Mr Khan shook his head while the audience shouted and then continued: ‘Some of you have got good reasons to oppose Ulez but you are in coalition with Covid deniers… you may not like it… you are in coalition with the far-Right. And you are in coalition with vaccine deniers as well.’
On the evening of the public meeting in Ealing on March 2, Labour MP David Lammy tweeted a picture of a poster with Mr Khan’s face and a swastika on it
Labour MP Emily Thornberry tweeted that the ‘far-Right’ came to the March 2 event in Ealing
Conservative Assembly member Nick Rogers wrote an open letter to Sir Keir saying that the comments from Mr Khan were a ‘slur against thousands upon thousands of Londoners’
Speaking in response to Mr Khan at the event, Conservative Assembly Member Peter Fortune accused the Mayor of trying to invalidate his opponents’ opinions.
He said: ‘You heard it didn’t you? If you disagree with the Mayor, he’s going to paint you as far-Right. He’s going to throw all this stuff at you, because he doesn’t want to address the fact you’ve got legitimate concerns.’
Conservative Assembly member, Nick Rogers tweeted after the meeting: ‘Tonight’s comments at People’s Question Time are some of the most disgraceful I have ever heard from any politician. Labelling those who oppose his Ulez expansion as ‘far-Right’ is not OK.
‘If he can’t hack the pressure of being Mayor, he should resign.’
The City Hall Conservatives also called on Labour members and the party’s leader Sir Keir Starmer to publicly condemn Mr Khan’s comments.
And Mr Rogers wrote a open letter to Sir Keir saying that the comments were a ‘slur against thousands upon thousands of Londoners’.
Speaking after the Ealing meeting, a spokesman for the Mayor of London said: ‘The Mayor stands by his decision to call out the vile messages on display outside the event in Ealing. Those who came to protest included people displaying Nazi symbols and spreading vaccine conspiracy theories.’
Earlier this week, Mr Khan said the vandalising of his Ulez cameras would be taken very seriously, after some newly-installed equipment at Abbey Wood in South East London was damaged.
He told the Evening Standard: ‘Vandalising Ulez cameras, vandalising TfL property, is not acceptable. It’s a criminal offence, and not unreasonably the police and TfL take it very seriously.’
