Sadiq Khan under fire for spending £280k of taxpayers' money on cultural festival

Sadiq Khan has been criticised after spending £280,000 of taxpayers' money on a cultural festival in central London while knife crime continues to rise and police funding comes under strain.

The Labour Mayor of London authorised the spending on Black in the Square, a Trafalgar Square event celebrating Black Londoners' culture and creativity. But campaigners and politicians warned the money would have been better spent tackling crime and supporting frontline services.

Callum McGoldrick, a researcher at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Londoners will be dismayed to see their money squandered on vanity festivals while the city faces far deeper problems.

"With knife crime soaring and council tax precepts having jumped, the Mayor seems more interested in parading at parties than tackling the issues that matter.

"Sadiq Khan needs to get his priorities straight and focus on making London safer and more affordable."

Susan Hall AM, leader of the Conservatives at City Hall, linked the festival cost to the pressures facing the Metropolitan Police.

She said: "At a time when the Met Police are facing a £260m shortfall in funding, when police counters are closing, that the Mayor is spending millions on events in Trafalgar Square throughout the year will have Londoners asking where his priorities lie. Community is important - but so is community safety, the cornerstone of which is a well-funded police force."

Reform's Alex Wilson AM, who is the parties sole assembly member in the capital, also questioned the Mayor's priorities.

He said: "Given the Mayor is failing Londoners on so many issues and we all know budgets are tight, I would query if this is the best use of taxpayers' money. We would prefer he focussed on reversing the retreat of policing on our streets and improving London's transport network."

A spokesperson for the Mayor defended the cost, insisting London's community festivals play a vital role in bringing Londoners together.

They said: "London's community festivals - including St Patrick's Day, St George's Day, and Diwali - bring hundreds of thousands of Londoners and visitors together in the heart of our capital throughout the year for free, family-friendly entertainment.

"Black On The Square is a key part of our events calendar and highlights the breadth of Black Londoners' culture and creativity. These events celebrate the power of our capital's great diversity and send an important message of unity at a time when some have sought to divide our communities."

City Hall said the £280,000 cost was "broadly in line" with other Trafalgar Square events.

Officials pointed to what they called a record-breaking £1.16 billion annual investment in the Metropolitan Police, which they said has helped protect neighbourhood policing and reduce violent crime across every London borough.

But critics insist the latest festival spend shows the Mayor's priorities are wrong. With knife crime rising, a police shortfall of £260m and transport costs climbing, opponents say Londoners want money spent on making the capital safer, not on what they call "vanity projects."