Sadiq Khan has been handed a knighthood in the New Year Honours list – even after more than 200,000 people signed a petition against the move.
The Mayor of London is one of a handful of politicians to receive top honours ahead of the new year.
Emily Thornberry MP, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, has been made a dame while Andy Street, who recently lost re-election as West Midlands Mayor, has been knighted.
But the gong for Sir Sadiq, for political and public service, proved particularly controversial when news of it leaked recently.
Conservative London councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman started a petition on Change.org to ‘stop’ the knighthood from happening.
The mayor is a frequent target for right-wing politicians due to anti-pollution measures such as the capital’s ultra-low emission zone, and a perceived lack of success in tackling knife crime.
He also gained a wider international profile through his frequent clashes with Donald Trump, which started when the then-presidential candidate called for Muslims to be banned from the US in 2015.
After Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in last month’s election, Sir Sadiq said ‘many Londoners will be anxious’ and ‘fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights’.
Born in Tooting, Sir Sadiq became the first Muslim mayor of a major western city when he was elected to succeed Boris Johnson in 2016.
He has since become the first person to be elected to a third term as Mayor of London, following his defeat of Susan Hall in May.
Previously, he had worked as a human rights lawyer and was elected as MP for Tooting in 2005. He served as shadow justice secretary when Ed Miliband was Labour leader.
Reacting to his honour, Sir Sadiq said: ‘I couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I would one day be mayor of London.
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‘It’s the honour of my life to serve the city I love and I will continue to build the fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London that all of the capital’s communities deserve.’
Actor and comedian Stephen Fry and ex-England football manager Gareth Southgate are among the other notable figures to receive knighthoods in the New Year Honours.
Meanwhile, four victims of the Horizon IT scandal – Lee Castleton, Jo Hamilton, Christopher Head and Seema Misra – have been made OBEs for services to justice.
They were among hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of fraud, theft, and false accounting over more than a decade in one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.
Mr Castleton, who was played by Will Mellor in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, said he was ‘very honoured and very proud’ to get the award.
But he added: ‘Obviously, it’s one of those things where it’s not the end.
‘It’s just sad that it’s been prolonged and protracted by the other side and it would be nice to just draw a line under everything with something like this – but onwards and upwards.’
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