Mayor faces accusations of hypocrisy after resorting to ‘name-calling’ against Shadow Justice Secretary – the same tactic he once condemned when Trump targeted him
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is under fire for his ‘hypocritical’ personal attack on Robert Jenrick, whom he branded ‘Mr Ozempic‘ during a heated row over fare-dodging on the capital’s transport network.
The extraordinary name-calling has drawn comparisons to the bitter exchanges Khan himself endured with Donald Trump, with critics pointing out that the mayor once complained about the former US President “behaving like an 11-year-old” by resorting to nicknames.
The row erupted after Jenrick’s viral video confronting fare-dodgers at Stratford station racked up an astonishing 14.7 million views on X alone, sparking a fierce debate about law and order in the capital.
‘CHUTZPAH OF MR OZEMPIC’
Speaking on Times Radio on Monday, Khan launched into a personal attack on the Shadow Justice Secretary, saying: “What I find ironic, and it’s an example of the chutzpah of Mr Ozempic, is that he was in government when the government cut more than a billion pounds from their police budget.”
The ‘Mr Ozempic’ jibe refers to Jenrick’s openly admitted to using the weight loss jab Ozempic last August, when he said he “didn’t particularly enjoy it” after joking about liking “a second doughnut” too much.
Political blog Guido Fawkes was quick to highlight Khan’s apparent double standards, noting: “Guido remembers Khan whingeing about Trump giving him a nickname: ‘I’m a bit surprised that the President of the USA would, frankly speaking, behave like an 11-year-old and resort to name calling.’ Rattled?
VIRAL VIDEO SPARKS TRANSPORT ROW
The controversy began when Jenrick posted footage of himself confronting suspected fare-dodgers at Stratford station in east London, with the Conservative MP asking one man “Do you think it’s alright not to pay?” and telling another that “everyone else has to pay.
In shocking scenes, one lawbreaker appeared to threaten to whip out a knife after telling Jenrick to “f*** off”. The Shadow Justice Secretary later asked the man: “You what, you’re carrying a knife, did you say?
Jenrick accompanied his video with a scathing attack on Khan’s record, posting: “Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control. He’s not acting. So, I did.”
KHAN’S TRUMP TROUBLES RESURFACE
The mayor’s choice of words is particularly striking given his long history of condemning personal attacks from Trump. During Trump’s first presidency, the pair became embroiled in what was described as an “extraordinary war of words”, initially sparked by Khan’s opposition to a US travel ban on certain Muslim countries.
Trump had called Khan a “stone cold loser” and “very dumb”, while also accusing him of doing “a very bad job on terrorism.
In response, Khan famously allowed an unflattering blimp of Trump dressed as a baby in a diaper to fly above protests in Parliament Square during his 2018 visit to Britain.
Speaking on a podcast last year, Khan said he viewed Trump’s targeting of him as “incredibly personal” and suggested it was motivated by his ethnicity and Muslim faith, stating: “If I wasn’t this color skin, if I wasn’t a practicing Muslim, he wouldn’t have come for me.
TRANSPORT CHIEFS HIT BACK
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which represents Tube staff, condemned Jenrick’s video, with general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust saying: “We’ve long said that fare evasion should be tackled through proper investment in staffing and enforcement and not by MPs playing hero on the commute.”
She added: “What we need is a fully funded British Transport Police, more London Underground revenue control teams, and a serious plan to tackle the causes of fare evasion.
Khan defended his record on tackling fare evasion, telling Times Radio: “Fare evasion is an issue. It’s an issue for London, has been for some time and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve invested hugely in terms of not just enforcement officers, not just in terms of body-worn videos, not just in terms of CCTV, but invested in the police as well.
FARE-DODGING FACTS
The row comes as Transport for London faces mounting pressure over fare evasion, with the penalty charge for fare evasion currently £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days.
Jenrick claimed in his video that “Nearly one in 25 people using London’s public transport aren’t paying for it”, though TfL maintains that fare evasion on the Transport for London network was “lower than many comparable cities in Europe and North America”.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing, and Enforcement, responded: “The overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare, however there is a minority who do attempt to travel without a valid ticket which is a criminal offence.
JENRICK FIRES BACK
Following Khan’s ‘Mr Ozempic’ attack, Jenrick told GB News he was “fed up” with the situation, launching his own broadside at the mayor: “In London, Sadiq Khan is dong nothing. Useless mayor needs to actually get into gear, stop talking about legalising cannabis, and get out on the streets.”
He added: “Tackling knife crime, shoplifting, fare dodging, all the things that are making quality of life so bad for Londoners right now.
The Shadow Justice Secretary has faced his own scrutiny, with LBC’s Lewis Goodall confronting him about his past rule-breaking, including being found to have acted unlawfully as Housing Secretary. Critics also pointed out that Jenrick had visited his parents’ house during lockdown when the rest of us weren’t allowed to, was caught going at 68mph in a 40mph zone and claimed twice for one journey on his expenses.
POLITICAL FALLOUT
The extraordinary exchange has left political observers stunned, with many noting the irony of Khan adopting the very tactics he once condemned in Trump.
One political insider told us: “For someone who spent years complaining about Trump’s name-calling, it’s remarkable to see Khan stooping to exactly the same level. You have to wonder if he’s rattled by Jenrick’s video going viral.”
The row shows no signs of abating, with both camps digging in over the issue of crime and transport in the capital. As one Labour source admitted: “This probably isn’t the fight we wanted to be having right now.
With fare evasion continuing to plague London’s transport network and crime remaining a key voter concern, this bitter exchange between Khan and Jenrick looks set to rumble on – complete with the kind of personal attacks and name-calling that Khan once claimed were beneath the dignity of public office.
