Arise, Sir Sadiq! London mayor 'truly humbled' to be knighted in New Year Honours list
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Sadiq Khan has been made a knight in the New Year Honours list after securing a record third term as mayor of London. Sir Sadiq said he was “truly humbled” to receive the honour. He said: “I couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I would one day be mayor of London.
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“It’s the honour of my life to serve the city I love and I will continue to build the fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London that all of the capital’s communities deserve.”. The Tooting-born son of a bus driver worked as a human rights lawyer before entering Parliament as MP for his home town in 2005, serving as a junior minister under Gordon Brown and then as shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband.
In 2016, he defeated Conservative Zac Goldsmith to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor of London, becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major western city and going on to win two further terms. His tenure has at times proved controversial and a petition started by a Conservative councillor opposing his knighthood has had more than 200,000 signatures since December 5.
Sir Sadiq has taken a firm stance on making London a greener and less polluted place to live, and his ultra low emission zone (Ulez) expansion has split opinion. Vandals have damaged Ulez cameras and signage, while protesters have gathered in the city on several occasions.
He has also pledged to clean up the Thames, planning to make it swimmable within 10 years. Sir Sadiq has faced scrutiny over his record on law and order, having regularly clashed with the Conservative government, criticising ministers over police funding and for failing to promptly ban zombie knives.
