Sir Sadiq Khan launches rallying name to ‘spotlight the advantages of immigration’ – as he accuses far-right of demonising migrants and fearmongering a few ‘dystopian’ London

Sadiq Khan has hailed the ‘benefits’ of immigration in a lengthy statement – insisting people who call London dangerous are ‘callous’ and ‘cruel’.

The longstanding mayor said there had been a ‘drastic fall’ in the legal movement of people into the country, despite the more than 450 per cent rise since the early 1990s.

His comments, published on the social media platform X, followed a speech he gave this morning at London’s Guildhall – where he further sang the praises of diversity.

Sir Sadiq accompanied his post this afternoon with the caption ‘it’s time to reset the immigration debate’.

He said: ‘For too long the immigration debate has been dictated by the hysteria, hatred and fearmongering of the far-right.

‘They paint a dystopian picture of London as a city that’s fallen. And let’s be frank – they do so because they can’t stand what London represents – a city that’s diverse, progressive and thriving.’

Sir Sadiq went on: ‘The drastic fall in legal migration provides a unique opportunity for progressives to reset the immigration debate – and take the public with us.’

The London mayor said there was a ‘clear path’ that could ‘allow us to highlight the benefits of immigration’.

In his speech today to the Fabian Society’s new year conference, Sir Sadiq launched a scathing attack on Reform and Conservative politicians, who he claimed ‘can’t stand what London represents – a city that’s diverse, progressive and thriving, with a Mayor who happens to be Muslim’.

Responding to the comments, Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said: ‘Sadiq Khan has given a speech at the Fabian Society declaring mass untrammelled immigration is actually amazing and turned off replies. Peak Labour politics.’

Sir Sadiq’s stern words followed a furore last month after the Labour politican, who became mayor of London in 2016, was called a ‘horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor’ by US President Donald Trump.

In his criticism, Mr Trump had also suggested ‘many’ states in Europe ‘will not be viable countries any longer’ and said immigration policies across the continent were ‘a disaster’.

Sir Sadiq hit back at the remarks, claiming the attacks on Europe and London were ‘grooming’ and ‘radicalising’ extremists in Britain.

He said: ‘My concern about when President Trump says some of the things he does is he normalises and brings to the mainstream views that I think are unacceptable.’

Earlier this month, Sir Sadiq released new data which he said suggested London is ‘safer than ever’.

Opponents claimed the evidence was ‘cherry-picked’ after the mayor pointed to figures revealing the capital’s murder rate had fallen to its lowest level in decades.

He insisted the Metropolitan Police data disproved suggestions from Mr Trump and other right-wing politicians that crime in London was out of control.

Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also accused ‘pundits’ of damaging the city’s reputation and said ‘people who live and work in London generally feel safe’.

But while declining murder rates were welcome, other data showed crime including shoplifting, phone snatching and sexual offences had all increased under Sir Sadiq’s leadership.

Susan Hall, Conservative leader of the London Assembly, claimed he had ‘chosen to cherry-pick data in order to cover his record failure as our Mayor’.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘Whilst knife homicides may be down, they represent just a small number of outcomes from knife offences.

‘In reality, most Londoners who encounter a knife – such as a robbery – are significantly less likely to see action on that matter, and the number of knife offences in London continues to climb.’

The comments came as Daily Mail analysis revealed someone moves out of London every 75 seconds.

Almost 415,000 residents upped sticks to the Home Counties or beyond in 2024.

Offset by the 287,000 who ventured in the opposite direction, London’s internal net migration stood at nearly -128,000 – one of the highest figures on record.

Experts say young families have been left with no choice but to flee due to cost-of-living pressures and rising property prices.

Soaring crime rates in ‘lawless London’ may also have played a role, commentators say.

Reform’s candidate for Mayor of London, Laila Cunningham, told the Daily Mail: ‘Sadiq Khan has allowed criminality to flourish in London and it’s holding this city back.

‘Not only do young people no longer want to live here, many are now moving away.

‘It’s hard not to conclude it’s because they simply don’t feel London is a safe place where you can raise a family.’

Today’s speech at the Guildhall stepped up a war of words between Sir Sadiq and Ms Cunningham – who sparked controversy with her call for women in London wearing the burka to face being stopped and searched by police. 

In his speech to the conference, Sir Sadiq said: ‘The resurgence of far-right populism and nativism means that the idea that we can be diverse, united and prosperous is under threat like never before.

‘The White House’s “National Security Strategy” recently made the preposterous claim that Europe is at risk of “civilisational erasure”.

‘Over here, Reform and the Tories are dancing to the same tune.

‘They paint a dystopian picture of London as a city that’s fallen. And let’s be frank – they do so because they can’t stand what London represents – a city that’s diverse, progressive and thriving, with a Mayor who happens to be a Muslim.

‘The fact that this is the greatest city in the world makes a mockery of their entire worldview. So they construct lies, seek to manufacture an enemy, pit citizens against one another for political gain, and stoke fear by blaming ‘the other’ for all of society’s ills.’

He concluded by saying legal migration ‘is crucial to the future success of our capital and country’.

Last year Sir Sadiq insisted he would not have used the phrase ‘island of strangers’ after Keir Starmer faced backlash over comments on immigration.

Critics accused Sir Keir of emulating Powell’s 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, when the then-senior Tory said white British people could find themselves ‘strangers in their own country’ as a result of migration.

Sir Sadiq said: ‘The sort of language I use is different to the language used by others. That’s not the sort of words I would use.’

He added that he thought Sir Keir was referring to ‘promises made by Brexiteers’ and recent high levels of migration, and not ‘that contribution we make to this multicultural capital city and country.’

Around 1.27million foreign nationals moved to the UK in 2023 – enough people to fill a city the size of Birmingham. 

Germany, now centre of Europe’s anti-immigration fightback, took 1.22m, followed by Spain (1.1m), Italy (378,000) and France (295,000). 

The House of Commons Library presented the data last month in a wide-ranging report on migration, using figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the EU’s Eurostat equivalent.

Britain’s immigration figures have since fallen, taking fewer than 900,000 in the year to June 2025.

Amid the conflicting accounts, critics were roused once more when London ranked highly on The Spectator Index earlier this month as among the ‘world’s best cities to live in’ for 2026.