Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham has accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of ignoring crime in the capital, after he announced a £7 million campaign to promote tourism. This would involve tackling online “misinformation”, which Khan blames for exaggerating how dangerous the city is and putting off foreign visitors.
Laila Cunningham tore into Khan, saying: “If the Mayor of London wants to encourage more tourism, he should deal with the crime he has allowed to spiral out of control instead of suggesting that victims are liars.”
Announcing his new campaign, Khan claimed that “Disinformation about London has become a truly global scourge. It’s a money-making industry pushing lies about our capital and preying on people’s fears around the world, so we must fight back on a global scale.”
In response, Cunningham suggested that Khan would be better off spending millions of Londoners’ money on cleaning up London’s streets, rather than on a “propaganda campaign”. Londoners “need safer streets”, she said. “They need police who turn up when they’re robbed. They need phone thieves, moped gangs and repeat offenders taken off the streets.”
Khan’s announcement comes at a time when both Londoners and prospective tourists are increasingly concerned about everyday crime. As Cunningham pointed out, “nearly 100,000 [phone] thefts and attempted thefts are recorded in a single year”. Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show that 587,498 phones were stolen in London between 2017 and February 2024 (excluding the City of London) - that’s roughly the equivalent of one phone stolen every four-and-a-half minutes. Only a tiny fraction of those are ever recovered (barely 2.4%), and even fewer (just over 1%) result in a charge or conviction.
The sheer scale of crime means that “Londoners can see what’s happening with their own eyes. They don’t need social media to tell them.”
“Parents worry when their children come home after dark. Tourists have their phones snatched in broad daylight. Shopkeepers are losing thousands to theft. Women alter their routes home because they don’t feel safe.”
Cunningham, a former senior prosecutor in London, said Khan’s approach ignores the real-world experiences of victims. “I’ve sat with victims after robberies, sexual offences and violent attacks”, she said. “The idea that fear of crime is some kind of social media illusion is insulting. The fear is real because the crime is real.”
For Cunningham, that makes Khan’s language all the more indefensible: “Calling concern about crime ‘misinformation’ doesn’t make crime disappear, but it does show how out of touch City Hall has become.”
Laila Cunningham tore into Khan, saying: “If the Mayor of London wants to encourage more tourism, he should deal with the crime he has allowed to spiral out of control instead of suggesting that victims are liars.”
Announcing his new campaign, Khan claimed that “Disinformation about London has become a truly global scourge. It’s a money-making industry pushing lies about our capital and preying on people’s fears around the world, so we must fight back on a global scale.”
In response, Cunningham suggested that Khan would be better off spending millions of Londoners’ money on cleaning up London’s streets, rather than on a “propaganda campaign”. Londoners “need safer streets”, she said. “They need police who turn up when they’re robbed. They need phone thieves, moped gangs and repeat offenders taken off the streets.”
Khan’s announcement comes at a time when both Londoners and prospective tourists are increasingly concerned about everyday crime. As Cunningham pointed out, “nearly 100,000 [phone] thefts and attempted thefts are recorded in a single year”. Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show that 587,498 phones were stolen in London between 2017 and February 2024 (excluding the City of London) - that’s roughly the equivalent of one phone stolen every four-and-a-half minutes. Only a tiny fraction of those are ever recovered (barely 2.4%), and even fewer (just over 1%) result in a charge or conviction.
The sheer scale of crime means that “Londoners can see what’s happening with their own eyes. They don’t need social media to tell them.”
“Parents worry when their children come home after dark. Tourists have their phones snatched in broad daylight. Shopkeepers are losing thousands to theft. Women alter their routes home because they don’t feel safe.”
Cunningham, a former senior prosecutor in London, said Khan’s approach ignores the real-world experiences of victims. “I’ve sat with victims after robberies, sexual offences and violent attacks”, she said. “The idea that fear of crime is some kind of social media illusion is insulting. The fear is real because the crime is real.”
For Cunningham, that makes Khan’s language all the more indefensible: “Calling concern about crime ‘misinformation’ doesn’t make crime disappear, but it does show how out of touch City Hall has become.”
