Liam Gallagher blames London mayor Sadiq Khan for rise in knife crime

The usually apolitical former Oasis frontman also voiced support for a new UK government

Adam White
Tuesday 25 June 2019 08:44 BST
Comments
Liam Gallagher criticises Sadiq Khan for knife crime in London

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Liam Gallagher has criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan for his response to London’s knife crime epidemic, claiming that he is fearful for the safety of his children.

“Every morning you wake up there’s some 16-year-old being knifed to death and that,” the former Oasis frontman told BBC Breakfast. “I’ve got kids that age, out and about and that, doing their thing, living, being young. That freaks me right out – it does worry me. I’ve got teenagers. I’d have a word with that mayor – he seems to not be doing a good job, all them kids getting knifed and all that.”

Referencing Khan’s official campaign to celebrate the capital’s diversity, Gallagher continued: “The only thing that ever comes out of his mouth is, ‘London is open’. What, open for knife crime and dying and stuff?”

The same interview also saw Gallagher attack individuals in the Conservative Party leadership race who revealed that they had taken drugs.

“Shame on them,” Gallagher said. “If I did see a politician taking drugs he’d get a crack round the head. [I’d say] ‘What are you doing, you doughnut?’ They’re meant to be running the country, aren’t they?”

He also expressed support for a “three strikes and you’re out” system in regards to UK governance, arguing that the general public no longer has a proper say in who leads us. “Get the other party in or whoever’s next, not just Labour – the Green Party or whoever else it is.”

Gallagher is due to perform at this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival, where he will debut tracks from his forthcoming album Why Me? Why Not. It is Gallagher’s second solo record, with the long-running feud between Gallagher and brother Noel having lead to the potentially permanent dissolving of Oasis.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in