Sadiq Khan 'triggered' by far-right protests that left his children feeling 'scared for first time'
9 August 2024, 11:32 | Updated: 9 August 2024, 11:44
Sadiq Khan has said he was “triggered” by the far-right protests that broke out across the UK which caused his children to feel scared about who they are for the first time.
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Over 500 people have been arrested for their involvement in the riots that developed in the wake of the Southport murders that saw mosques and immigration services targeted with violence and racist chants.
The Mayor of London said he does not feel safe as a Muslim politician and that it has been “heartbreaking” to see his children’s generation feel scared after experiencing similar disorder to what his own generation endured growing up.
As one of the UK’s most high-profile Muslim politicians, Mr Khan has been subjected to particularly extreme levels of racist abuse.
He has faced death threats since being elected in 2016, and has previously said he had a team of 15 police officers who kept him safe “around the clock”.
On the events since the Southport murders, he said: “What’s heartbreaking to me is my children’s generation had never experienced what I had.
“And they, for the first time, were scared. I thought I’d be the last generation to be scared, simply for who I am. And it breaks my heart.”
He continued: “I’m somebody who grew up in the 1970s and 80s and experienced the National Front and the BNP and I thought that’s behind us.
“Like a lot of people of my generation, I felt triggered by the events of the last couple of weeks in particular.
“It’s difficult to explain the ripples when you’ve been targeted because of your religion or colour of your skin and you can’t change either of those things.
“And whether you’re seeing physical acts of violence taking place in the north-west or the north-east, you feel it in London.”
Asked whether he felt safe as a Muslim politician, Mr Khan said: “Clearly I’m not safe, which is why I’ve got police protection.”
Cities across the UK feared the worst on Wednesday when more than 100 far-right demonstrations were reportedly planned.
However, they did not reach the levels of severity of previous riots after around 25,000 anti-racist protestors took to the streets to stand up to the hateful action.
Mr Khan has said he felt “pride” about the thousands coming together as chants of “we fight back”, “refugees are welcome here” and “oppose Islamophobia” were heard across the UK.
He said: “It was fantastic and a source of pride to me that you saw thousands of people coming together yesterday.
“Different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different religions, different faiths, showing unity and allyship to those of us who have been targeted. Yesterday was a damp squib (for the far-right) … [but] they’re going to carry on trying to divide our communities.”
