STATEMENT
The recent remarks by Conservative London Mayoral candidate Susan Hall insinuating that some of London’s Jewish community is “frightened” of a “divisive” Mayor Sadiq Khan are nothing short of dog whistle Islamophobia.
This is yet another alarming intervention by Susan Hall, who has previously been found to have liked a tweet in praise of Enoch Powell, retweeted a post by Katie Hopkins which described Sadiq Khan as the mayor of ‘Londonistan’ in exceedingly pejorative terms and thanked Hopkins in reply. Such divisive rhetoric and actions go far beyond the scope of campaigning; they only fuel communal tensions and poison political discourse.
The case of Susan Hall is regrettably not isolated, illustrating a pattern of Islamophobia within Conservative London Mayoral candidate campaigns. Zac Goldsmith’s now infamously Islamophobic mayoral campaign in 2016 sought to paint Sadiq Khan as closely linked to extremists, whilst in 2021, Shaun Bailey a shared a tweet that referred to Mayor Khan as the “mad mullah Khan of Londonistan.”
Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Zara Mohammed, has said:
“It is unacceptable that someone with views as divisive as Susan Hall, and an affinity for Enoch Powell no less, be selected as the Conservative London Mayoral candidate.
“Her selection highlights the systemic and persistent nature of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party and that the Singh Review has done little to address it. As such, we once again call on the EHRC to open an investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
“The Conservative Party leadership must now hold Susan Hall to account; reject Islamophobia and divisive campaigning, that serves only to pit communities against one another. We need a politics of unity, not division.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- For any media enquiries, please contact: media@mcb.org.uk
- The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is the UK’s largest and most diverse Muslim umbrella organisation with membership spanning national, regional local organisations, mosques, charities and professional networks. It is independent, cross-sectarian and democratic with the leadership team accountable to the membership.