Labour’s Sadiq Khan told Hackney’s Jewish community tackling anti-Semitism would be a top priority for him should he be elected as London Mayor on Thursday.
His party has been plunged into crisis over the last few days following the suspensions of MP Naz Shah and former mayor Ken Livingstone, who have been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks.
Ms Shah has been heavily criticised over Facebook posts made before she became an MP, including one suggesting Israel should be moved to the United States.
And yesterday Mr Livingstone was suspended after claiming Hitler supported Zionism “before he went mad”.
Speaking to the Gazette today in Ridley Road Market, Dalston, Mr Khan said he would be a “mayor for all of London”.
“The views expressed were both disgusting and appalling,” he said. “Last year anti-Semitic crime went up 60 per cent across London and I will make [tackling] it a top priority.”
Despite being one of the first high-profile Labour members to call for Ken Livingstone to be suspended, Boris Johnson claimed on LBC radio that there was an “ideological continuum” between him and Mr Khan.
Mr Khan rubbished the claims with his comments at the famous market street, where he was also keen to talk about the housing crisis, which has hit Hackney people as hard as anyone.
He reiterated his pledge to bring in a London Living Rent – where private renters would pay a third of their income and no more, and said he wanted to make 50 per cent of new builds affordable.
“The housing crisis is a Tory housing crisis,” he said. “When the council tries to engage with developers they go round the mayor to City Hall. The Hackney mayor knows that a good mayor in City Hall will back him.
“As mayor I will stand up for Londoners and build genuinely affordable homes, which they will get first dibs on.”
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