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Britain’s Labour set to take London after bitter mayoral campaign

Khan enjoyed a 20-point lead among the eight candidates, including his closest rival, Conservative Party member Zac Goldsmith.

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The Italian Job star threw his weight behind Tory Zac Goldsmith – but Mr Khan also received support from a series of celebrities including Bianca Jagger and Kooks singer Luke Pritchard.

But he condemned the divisive nature of the campaign that has seen him repeatedly forced to defend himself against claims that he has failed to condemn Muslim extremists.

Prime Minister David Cameron took up the criticism, accusing Khan of appearing “again and again” on platforms alongside Sulaiman Ghani, an imam Cameron called an Islamic extremist.

The online survey for The Evening Standard, of more than 1,000 people in the capital between 26 April and 1 May, put Khan on 57% and Goldsmith on 43% in the second round of voting.

The Labour bigwig lashed out with the notorious slur used against black people to suggest they tip their hats to white people.

Mr Khan, 45, grew up in social housing and worked as a human rights lawyer before rising to be a government minister – a back story that contrasts sharply with his rival. He has Jewish ancestors who fled fascism in Europe, and his financier father James Goldsmith was both a French member of the European Parliament and an anti-EU British politician. “I want as much Bollywood as possible here in London as possible”, he said. I’m of Asian origin, of Pakistani heritage. I’m all these things. I urge Londoners to give me the chance to restore for all Londoners the opportunities our great city gave to me.

Asad Jaman, who works in management at the East London Mosque, one of Britain’s largest, left the rally undecided about who he would vote for.

Friends of the Earth drew on expert thinking from scientists, campaign groups, its supporters, and communities facing the worst of London’s environment and came up with ten key policies to test how the next mayor will tackle London’s environmental problems.

London is the top prize in local elections being held across Scotland, Wales and northern England, and there was little let-up in the accusations against Khan, who has a big lead in opinion polls, as campaigning ran into its final hours.

The Muslim Association of Britain said in a recent statement it was “bizarre and disappointing” that the focus of the campaign had shifted from the future of London onto Islam.

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Khan told the audience that if elected, 50 percent of new homes would be “genuinely affordable” and that Londoners would get “first dibs” over investors in the Middle East and Asia.

Britain's Labour party candidate for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan watched by Labour Party supporters