By Tony O’Reilly-
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new initiative, the ‘London for Everyone’ campaign, to address the rising incidents of hate crimes in the city.
His announcement came 24 hours after a damning report by the advertising watchdog that London Mayor Sadiq Khan misled the public about the benefits of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez).
The news also came within a day of accusations against Khan for being “asleep on the job” of reforming the Met Police, after it emerged that a study into stop and search has not been delivered more than three years since it was promised.
His new campaign commits to the allocation of £250,000 to support groups fostering community cohesion in London.
The campaign, set to launch on November 24, will feature posters displayed across the Transport for London (TfL) network and online platforms.
Khan emphasized the importance of celebrating London’s diversity, calling it a strength that should be embraced, not denigrated.
During the announcement at GALOP, the LGBTQ+ anti-abuse charity’s central London headquarters, Khan expressed concern about certain communities feeling excluded in the wake of recent events.
He said, “We’ve got to remind people that one of the reasons why we’re the greatest city in the world is because of our diversity, from the arts to our music venues, from our restaurants to our bars, from our synagogues, mosques, gurdwaras, temples, churches.”
Claire Waxman, London’s Victims’ Commissioner, welcomed the campaign, particularly given the “shocking increase in hate crime incidents which has impacted our Jewish and Muslim communities in particular.”
The Metropolitan Police reported over 188 hate crime and violence arrests since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
The £250,000 funding will be directed to the Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH) partnership and the mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund to expand their efforts in the capital.
Amy Roch, deputy CEO of GALOP, highlighted the importance of specialist support for victims of hate crimes, particularly in light of the government’s figures showing a more than 37% increase in reported anti-LGBT+ hate crimes in the last two years.
The announcement after a draft report by the advertising watchdog that London Mayor Sadiq Khan misled the public about the benefits of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) has been viewed by some critics as a guise to obscure the issues that arise from the report,.
Analysts believe the future will demonstrate the quality of the initiative, depending on the impacts and results.
The investigators said: “In the absence of qualifying information consumers were likely to understand that the claims were based on actual figures, not estimates or modelled scenarios, and that NO2 concentrations had been seen to reduce by almost a half.”
The report was leaked after being sent to interested parties before any potential amendments, ratication and publication.
It is believed TfL will “strongly challenge” the draft conclusions.
A TfL spokesman said: “The science is absolutely clear about the signicant harm of air pollution on people’s health and that estimated premature deaths from air pollution are higher in outer London than in inner London. We are confident that the advertisement is accurate.”