Sadiq Khan faces calls to resign over London’s spiralling murder rate after another teenager gunned down overnight
SADIQ Khan is under pressure to tackle London’s spiralling murder rate after another teenager was gunned down overnight.
The Mayor of London, who vowed to increase stop and searches in January to prevent a bloodbath, is facing calls to resign as the 48th person killed this year was named as 17-year-old “Tanisha”.
As the killings have escalated in recent weeks to such an extent the situation is worse in the capital than in New York, it has led to celebs like Piers Morgan asking Mr Khan: “What are you going to do about it?”
And after he used the recent spate of stabbings to attack the Government for cutting funding for police, he was attacked on social media for not tackling the situation himself.
The London mayor tweeted on Sunday: “Tory police cuts have already cost London thousands of police officers and staff, most of our police station front counters and police buildings.
“It’s time for the Government to stop misleading the public and properly fund our police.”
But Theresa May put pressure on Mr Khan to fix the issue himself, with a spokesman for the Prime Minister saying: "The Mayor of London is accountable for the performance of the Metropolitan Police."
And a day later the Met confirmed Tanisha as at least the 39th murder victim in London since February 1, with early reports suggesting she was tragically caught in the crossfire between two gangs.
In a separate incident about half an hour later and about two miles away, a 16-year-old boy was left fighting for his life when he was shot in Walthamstow last night.
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Of the 48 murder investigations launched this year they include 31 fatal stabbings - and at this pace the capital is on pace to record its highest rate in at least 13 years.
Back in January Mr Khan promised a “tougher crackdown” this year on violent crime, and revealed that police will “significantly” increase the use of stop and search.
But his words have been met with fury, with social media commenters accusing him of “incompetence” and asking him to fall on his sword.
One Twitter user raged: “Resign Khan we don't need weak people."
Another said: “Khan what an earth are you doing about London!! Come on pull your finger out or resign, you are incompetent and the worst mayor London has ever had!"
Dale Miles posted it was: "Time for Khan to fall on his sword do the decent thing and resign."
One accused him of "not being up to the job", while several accused him of not taking the issue seriously enough.
And Ukip tweeted that: “Sadiq Khan needs to be summoned to Parliament to explain exactly what is going on, and exactly what he plans to combat this horrifying plague.”
And after it was reported that London had overtaken New York in murders this year Piers Morgan called it “very disturbing”.
The Good Morning Britain host tweeted: “This is happening on YOUR watch, Mr Mayor @SadiqKhan - what are you going to do about it?”
And after Mr Khan blamed funding cuts for the spike in knife crime, former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers rubbished the claims.
She told the BBC: “On policing, I think Sadiq Khan should spend that half-a-billion-pounds he has got in reserves on keeping police stations open. He has got the money. Why is he not doing it?”
But in response to the latest incidents the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, said: “The safety of all Londoners is the Mayor’s first priority.
"The Mayor and I are deeply concerned by violent crime in the capital - every life lost to violent crime is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the friends and families of victims.
“However, the Metropolitan Police need further Government support. Crime is rising nationally, and there is a funding crisis facing police services across Britain, which is forcing the Met to find £325million in savings by 2021.”
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She added: “The Mayor is doing everything he can to support the Met and youth services across the capital. Since becoming Mayor, Sadiq has invested an additional £110million in the Met police force, put extra Dedicated Ward Officers into every neighbourhood, made knife wands available for every secondary school and college in the capital as part of his Knife Crime Strategy and has dedicated £7million to projects to help tackle youth violence and £45million to projects to help young people at risk of getting caught up in crime.
“The Mayor wants every Londoner, regardless of age or background, to feel safe in this great city, but we want it to be even safer and we’re working hard to bring an end to this violent scourge.”