Sadiq Khan is 'unfit to protect Londoners against terrorists' because he is a 'lackey who speaks alongside extremists,' claims Defence Secretary in unprecedented attack

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Labour's candidate for Mayor of London has been described as a 'lackey who speaks alongside extremists' by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon as the race to replace Boris Johnson turned nasty. 

Mr Fallon stepped up the attack on Sadiq Khan, who is expected to beat Tory rival Zac Goldsmith in May's election to City Hall.  

Using the strongest words of the campaign so far, the Defence Secretary said reports of Mr Khan's links with controversial individuals made him unfit to 'protect' London against a terrorist threat. 

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Sadiq Khan, pictured in 2001 when he was providing legal defence for the controversial Islamic fanatic Louis Farrakhan, has been described by the Tories as 'unfit' to be London Mayor because of his links with radical individuals in the past 

And he hit out at the Labour candidate as 'a man who has said Britain's foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat'.

But Mr Khan's team hit back, describing the unprecedented attack by Mr Fallon as 'demeaning' his office. 

Speaking on LBC Radio this morning, Mr Khan said: 'For goodness sake, let's have a campaign that is positive.' 

Mr Fallon's comments follow recent media reports linking Mr Khan to Islamic extremists he had defended in his former job as a human rights lawyer. 

SADIQ KHAN DEFENDS LINKS WITH MAN WHO DESCRIBED WHITE PEOPLE AS 'DEVILS'

Sadiq Khan, pictured in 2001 during his work on Louis Farrakhan's case, said 'even the worst people need a defence'

Labour's candidate for Mayor of London has defended his links to infamous Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Sadiq Khan represented Farrakhan in the early 2000s in his efforts to overturn a ban on coming to Britain.

Farrakhan is a hugely controversial figure who has denounced white people as 'devils' described jews as 'bloodsuckers' and called Hitler a 'very great man'.

Mr Khan, who is MP for Tooting, is attempting to follow Boris Johnson as London mayor in May. His main opponent is Tory MP for Richmond upon Thames, Zac Goldsmith.

Last month Mr Khan defended his role in the legal bid.

In an interview with Jack Mendel at Jewish News he said: 'I have never hidden the fact that I was a human rights lawyer.

'Unfortunately, that means that I had to speak on behalf of some unsavoury individuals.

'Some of their views made me feel deeply uncomfortable, but it was my job.' 

Sources close to Mr Khan said he had condemned extremism and radicalisation publicly for his entire career.

But reports from the time reveal he played a very public role in attempting to get Farrakhan into Britain.

He was, and remains, banned because of fears his anti-Semitic views would stir up racial hatred.

In 1990 Farrakhan sparked outrage after claiming Jewish people controlled the US 'like a radar controls the movement of a great ship in the waters' and had 'got a stranglehold on the Congress'.

They included the infamous Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who Mr Khan defended in the early 2000s after the Islamist fanatic attempted to overturn a ban on him coming to Britain. 

Mr Farrakhan is a hugely controversial figure who has denounced white people as 'devils', described Jewish people as 'bloodsuckers' and called Hitler a 'very great man'. 

Mr Khan defended the links last month, insisting that as a human rights lawyer he had to speak on behalf of 'some unsavoury individuals'. 

Mr Fallon does not shy away from using inflammatory language to attack political opponents. In the heat of the General Election campaign last year he told voters not to trust Ed Miliband as Prime Minister because he had 'stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader'. 

He added: 'Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister.'

Launching a fresh attack on Mr Khan at a meeting of local Conservative party members in Bromley, south London, Mr Fallong said last night: 'My priority as Defence Secretary is to give our armed forces what they need to protect our people and our territory, here at home and overseas, now and into the future.

'With the Home Office and the police, we have plans in place to deploy up to 10,000 troops in the event of Paris-style terrorist attacks. The Mayor has an important role to play in protecting London, supporting the police, and reassuring the public.

'That is why we need a candidate who can unite our city, not a Labour lackey who speaks alongside extremists, proving himself unfit to perform that role. A man who has said Britain's foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat. London has witnessed appalling terrorism in the past.

'It needs a Mayor who will back our police, security services and Armed Forces all the way. Labour cannot be trusted with our country's security and they cannot be trusted with London's either.' 

Responding to his comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'The Tory campaign is in real desperation and it was only a matter of time before they went down this route – so it's no surprise it's Michael Fallon who will literally say anything during an election.

'Sadiq has consistently spoken out against extremism and terrorism. He's suffered death threats and constant abuse from Muslim extremists throughout his life because of his mainstream views. He's the only candidate in this election who has a real plan to put a stop to radicalisation.

'Attacks like this on mainstream Muslims like Sadiq only make it harder for us to fight extremists, put an end to radicalisation and beat the terrorists - it demeans the office of Defence Secretary.' 

Zac Goldsmith, pictured left in central London, is battling it out with Labour's Sadiq Khan to replace Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May's elections but today the election campaign turned nasty after Michael Fallon launched an unprecedented attack on Mr Khan's ability to protect Londoners from a terrorist attack

Zac Goldsmith reveals he earned £10m in five years and paid £4.5m in tax after publishing tax return 

The Tory candidate for Mayor of London has revealed he earned £10million since he became an MP in 2010 and paid more than £4million in tax over the five-year period.

The figures were unveiled by Zac Goldsmith himself as he took the unprecedented step of publishing his tax returns in a risky move that exposes his astonishing personal wealth.

He published the details after coming under pressure to 'come clean' over his former status as a 'non-dom' taxpayer.   

But Labour responded by saying his tax returns 'raise more questions than they answer,' claiming they fail to explain the detail of the benefits he derived from his non-dom tax status. 

Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, pictured in central London, published his personal tax returns last week, revealing that he has earned £10million since he became an MP in 2010

His personal tax return revealed he paid an average of 46 per cent tax on his worldwide income and capital gains between 2010 and 2015. 

Mr Goldsmith urged his rivals for London Mayor - which include Labour's Sadiq Khan, the Respect party's George Galloway and the Green candidate Sian Berry - to publish their tax returns.

'I have... published my tax return details, prepared and verified by PwC... I gave a commitment to do so and today I deliver on that promise,' he said.

'I look forward to all mayoral candidates doing the same so London voters can judge us equally.'

A spokesman for Mr Khan said the Labour candidate will publish his tax returns this week. 

But Tory MP Paul Scully hit back at Mr Khan, saying: ‘Zac has delivered on his commitment. With every day that Khan dodges the question, he’s hiding from transparency. 

'He can’t deal with the scrutiny, just as he couldn’t deal with scrutiny of his experimental 1.9 billion pound black hole.’ 

It came on a day when Mr Goldsmith was forced to defend his decision to back Britain's exit from the EU in the upcoming referendum, which drew criticism that he was 'betraying' Londoners. 

In an article this morning, he acknowledged that being pro-EU would have put him in a better position to win the mayoral race but said he was not willing to put electoral politics ahead of his convictions. 

Zac Goldsmith (pictured right) is battling Sadiq Khan to replace Boris Johnson (pictured left) as Mayor of London in May's election 

'I recognise that opinion in London is at best divided on this issue, and as a mayoral candidate, it would be easier for me to quietly U-turn,' he wrote.

'But I didn't get involved in politics to test every idea with pollsters, flip flop on the big issues and then carry on regardless once elected.

He will campaign on the same side as the current London Mayor Boris Johnson, who dramatically announced he was joining the Out campaign yesterday. 

Mr Goldsmith's tax record shows that his taxable income since being elected as MP for Richmond Park & North Kingston was more than £6million. 

Most of it came from a family trust set up by his late father, the billionaire financier James Goldsmith, who died in 1997.

He earned an additional £4.3million in profits from selling assets. Over the five year period he had an average annual income of £1.2million - 45 times the average salary for UK workers of £26,500 and 36 times the median salary for full-time workers in the capital of £33,203. 

His income puts him in the highest-earning 0.05 per cent of UK taxpayers. 

Mr Goldsmith is believed to be the wealthiest MP with a personal fortune thought to be between £200million and £300million. 

Up until 2009 he was registered as a non-dom - a tax status that allows some UK residents to limit the tax paid on income earned overseas. 

He inherited the non-dom status along with his personal fortune from his father. 

But despite publishing his record today and declaring he is 'proud of my record,' Mr Goldsmith is likely to come under fire over why he did not give up his non-dom status earlier if he was not benefiting from it, as he claims. 

His Tory campaigners say the amount of money he has earned under the non-dom status was 'virtually nil'.  

Mr Goldsmith admitted he had been 'dealt a good hand in life' but insisted he was determined to 'play it well'. 

'As well known to voters in my two elections as an MP, I became 'non-dom' automatically because of my father's international status. It was not a choice, and I relinquished it seven years ago.

'I was born, grew up and have always lived in London — except for two years travelling abroad in my early twenties. Because of this I derived very little, if any, benefit from this status as my income came to the UK and was therefore taxed here.'

Responding to the publication of his tax returns, Labour MP Neil Coyle said: 'Zac Goldsmith's tax returns raise more questions than they answer. 

'They don't explain any detail of the benefits he derived from his non-domiciled tax status or explain why he bought his London home through a Cayman Islands trust.

'Londoners deserve to know the full details of Zac Goldsmith's tax affairs and the benefits he has derived from his non-domiciled status.'