London Mayor Sadiq Khan has responded to US President Donald Trump's personal attack on him and the city from the podium of the UN.
The American leader on Tuesday claimed that migrants wanted to impose Sharia in London under its “terrible mayor” during an hour-long speech in which he also railed against Iran, Europe and the UN itself.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure from MPs to summon the US ambassador over what they call Mr Trump’s “rampant Islamophobia”.
While there has been an enduring acrimony between Mr Khan and Mr Trump, it reached the global stage at the UN General Assembly.
“I look at London where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it’s been changed, it’s been so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that,” he said.
Mr Khan was quick to respond, telling Sky News on Wednesday that “President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic and he's Islamophobic”.
While the US is “a best friend” to Britain, he added, that should also mean “you've got the confidence to call them out when they're wrong, and I think President Trump is wrong in many, many ways”.
Mr Trump’s disparaging comments about the UK capital were made just five days after his unprecedented second state visit. However, he barely set foot in London, spending his first night at the ambassador’s residence overlooking Regents Park before travelling to Windsor Castle and the Prime Minister’s country residence, Chequers.
But the goodwill on show during the trip appears to have been forgotten, raising questions over Mr Starmer’s policy to placate Mr Trump rather than standing up to him.
Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan demanded that US ambassador Warren Stephens, a close Trump ally, be “should be summoned and challenged over Trump’s rampant Islamophobia”.
“Trump continually spreads lies,” she said. “In London, we celebrate our diversity and reject racists and bigots.”
UK Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said he completely disagrees with Mr Trump's remarks about London.
“We don’t have Sharia law, we have British law,” he told the BBC, accusing Mr Trump of a “misreading of our great capital city”.
Other London MPs were equally critical. “Blatant barefaced lies as any fact-check or reality check will attest,” wrote Rupa Huq on social media.
Dawn Butler told Mr Starmer that “now is the time to stick up for your country, don’t let Trump lie about us in this way”.
Earlier, Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee, had voiced support for Mr Khan, saying that people who suggest London had Sharia were “deluded or have a [very] sinister agenda”.
The rift between Mr Trump and Mr Khan stems back more than a decade when, during the Republican's first presidential campaign in 2015, the London Mayor criticised his proposed ban on Muslims travelling to the US.
Since Mr Trump won re-election last year, a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship, including almost 2,200 applying in the three months to June – a 50 per cent increase year on year, according to Mr Khan's office.
Mr Starmer will hope that Mr Trump’s words will be quietly lost in the news cycle. But with the Labour Party conference scheduled for the weekend, the issue may not retreat in time.
During a meeting in Scotland in July, Mr Starmer was forced to dismiss Mr Trump's attacks against Mr Khan directly. “He's a friend of mine, actually,” the Prime Minister said of the London Mayor.
Downing Street told The National on Wednesday that it did not want to comment further on the issue.
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
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- Flexible work arrangements
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SPECS
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
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Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
