Sadiq Khan: Donald Trump targeted me because of my skin colour

The mayor’s comments come despite insistence from the government that Labour will be able to work closely with the incoming Republican administration

Sadiq Khan has taken aim once again at Donald Trump, saying his policies are “sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and racist”.

The London mayor had a long-running row with Mr Trump during his first term in the White House, which began after Mr Khan criticised the president’s pledge to ban Muslims from the US, describing the policy as “ignorant”.

During his first term in office, Mr Trump described the mayor as “a stone-cold loser” and “very dumb”.

Speaking to the High Performance podcast, Mr Khan claimed the president-elect, who swept to victory in the US last week, singled him out as a result of his skin colour and religion.

Asked about the ongoing row, he said: “It’s personal, let’s be frank. If I wasn’t this colour skin, if I wasn’t a practising Muslim, he wouldn’t have come for me.

Donald Trump and Sadiq Khan have long been involved in a feud (PA/Getty)

“He wasn’t coming for me because I’m five foot six. He’s coming for me for because of – let’s be frank – my ethnicity and my religion, so it’s incredibly personal to me.

“It affects me, my family. What worries me though, it’s not about me and my family – it’s about the fact that he’s the leader of the free world.

“This is the president of the USA, a country we all adore, love, we love Americans, we love American culture. But also America’s like a lighthouse. They can be somebody that’s a source of good, ripples of hope and love, but also ripples of hate.”

Mr Khan added: “I was speaking out against somebody whose policies were sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, [it] wasn’t because I wanted to come to his attention, [it was] because I have a responsibility to speak out if I think something’s affecting not just Londoners, but... all of us.

“It’s not great. Would I do it again? Absolutely, because you’ve got to speak truth to power.”

His criticism of the president-elect comes despite insistence from Sir Keir Starmer’s government that Labour will be able to work closely with the Republican administration.

The prime minister expressed confidence following Mr Trump’s victory that the “UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come”.

Following Mr Trump’s election victory last week, the London mayor said Londoners would be “anxious about the outcome”.

While Sir Keir complimented Mr Trump on his “historic election victory”, Mr Khan issued a more disparaging statement, saying the result shows “progress is not inevitable”.

“Many will be fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights, or how the result impacts the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine”, he said.

“The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever - re-committing to building a world where racism and hatred is rejected, the fundamental rights of women and girls are upheld, and where we continue to tackle the crisis of climate change head on”, the mayor added.