Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is heartbreaking – but he is confident a Labour-run Barnet council will serve the whole community.

Speaking in Mill Hill on Saturday (May 14) before a canvassing session with local Labour candidates, Mr Khan said it was “heartbreaking” that some Londoners feel they can’t vote Labour because of the anti-Semitism claims.

He said: “We have to make sure we redouble our efforts – no-one should think it is acceptable to be racist or anti-Semitic.”

Mr Khan emphasised the shared values within Labour mean it is able to represent all communities, adding “we are our brother’s and our sister’s keeper”.

“Residents in Barnet of all faiths will see the difference Barnet Labour candidates want to make to their community,” the mayor added.

“The council has been letting residents down on issues such as youth services and refuse collection. I am sure residents will vote on the merits of our manifesto.”

The mayor’s comments follow claims the Labour Party has not done enough to tackle anti-Semitic attitudes expressed by some of its members.

Barnet is home to a large Jewish community, with the highest proportion of Jewish residents – almost 15 per cent of the population – of any English borough.

Labour has 11 Jewish candidates running in the local elections in Barnet, which are due to take place on May 3.

Mr Khan added: “It is also the last chance for people to have a say on the Government’s approach to Brexit – to say no to an extreme hard Brexit. A number of Barnet residents are EU citizens who did not get chance to vote in the referendum.”

The mayor also responded to claims from the Conservatives that his policies could lead to a ‘garden grab’ by developers eager to pressure people into selling off land for new homes.

“This is a classic example of Tory lies,” he said. “It was a Tory government that changed the rules around permitted development.”

“Another Tory lie is that they are in favour of affordable housing,” Mr Khan said, adding that estate regeneration projects in Barnet have led to residents being moved to towns like Luton rather than allocated housing within the borough.

“No-one should take lectures from Barnet council about affordable housing,” he said.

The Conservative group has pledged to ‘fight the London mayor’s police cuts’ and lobby Mr Khan for more police officers.

It claims Barnet pays the highest amount of police funding per head but gets fewer officers than any other London borough.

But Mr Khan said cuts from central government were causing staff reductions in the Metropolitan Police.

“I have been in office for two years and the Tory council has not said anything,” the mayor said. “London has lost over £700 million, and that has led to more than 3,000 police staff being lost and 120 police buildings being sold off.

“That is a consequence of a Tory government.”