Brighton: London's horror spate of terror attacks could have been much worse, mayor Sadiq Khan has said, revealing that police have foiled seven terror attacks in the British capital since March.
Mr Khan said the seven plots were in addition to the attacks at Westminster, Borough Market, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green that killed a total of 13 people, including two Australian women, Sara Zelenak and Kirsty Boden.
"Between March this year and now, there have been four attacks but seven [more] have been thwarted," he said at an event on the sidelines of the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
In July, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said authorities had foiled six plots in the four previous months.
Speaking at a later reception for the New Statesman magazine, Mr Khan said it had been a "really tough summer" for the city with the attacks and the fire at Grenfell Tower.
- In March, five people were killed when Khalid Masood drove a rented vehicle into tourists on Westminster Bridge.
- In May, 22 people were killed when Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb as an Ariana Grande concert finished in Manchester.
- In June, 6 people, including Ms Zelanak and Ms Boden were killed at Borough Market and on London Bridge when jihadists drove a van into pedestrians and then carried out a frenzied stabbing attack in the markets.
- Also in June, one man died when a vehicle was driven into Muslims at a mosque in Finsbury Park.
- Two weeks ago, a homemade bomb failed to detonate properly when it caught fire on a London Underground train at Parsons Green station.
"When you speak to the experts they have said that as far as terrorism is concerned it's not a spike this is a shift," he said.
The Labour mayor continued his pressure on the Tory government, calling for more police resources.
"And here's the political point, we can't expect that day in day out, our police, fire or NHS to go towards danger, encouraging others to flee, go to safety without giving them the resources they need and the pay they deserve," he said.
"And that's why we need a Labour government ... I mean, by the way, Jeremy Corbyn as the prime minister of a Labour government," he said.
But he also backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for internet companies to do more to combat extremist content online.
Mr Khan also used his conference appearance to say it would be "wrong" for Britain to host President Donald Trump on a state visit, describing some of the US leader's views on Islam as "ignorant".
During the US presidential election campaign, Mr Khan was among many people who spoke out against Mr Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the US, an idea he said would play into the hands of extremists.
Mr Trump has since criticised Mr Khan, accusing him of making a "pathetic excuse" for terrorism in his statement urging Londoners not to be alarmed by the presence of additional police on the streets following the London Borough attack in June.
"I sometimes think people are ignorant," he said, adding that it was his job to educate them.
How do you explain Labour's surprise election performance? Sadiq Khan responds: "Jeremy Corbyn... his energy and authenticity" pic.twitter.com/5mprZnfDGf??? Matt Dathan (@matt_dathan) September 24, 2017
Khan poses with Corbyn amid row over conference appearance
Earlier, Mr Khan posed with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after a hard-left attempt to block the mayor from speaking at the conference failed.
When he addressed the conference last year, Mr Khan criticised Mr Corbyn and backed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.
He is the most senior Labour figure in office, but was facing moves by the party's leadership to be given the same his speaking time at the conference as an ordinary member.
Great to be catch up with @jeremycorbyn here in Brighton. Looking forward to meeting & thanking our terrific members & activists at #Lab17 pic.twitter.com/FBfnRbl97z??? Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) September 23, 2017
Two weeks ago, when asked by London radio station LBC if he'd be addressing conference, the mayor replied "it doesn't look like it."
But on Friday, Mr Corbyn said Mr Khan would be speaking in Brighton.
"Sadiq is speaking. I'm delighted to say he is and I'm looking forward to listening to him," he told BBC London.
At the New Statesman drinks, Mr Khan referred to the controversy joking: "I know a number of you were concerned whether the New Statesmen would allow me to speak tonight."
But he stressed he backed Mr Corbyn's leadership.
"Our mission ... is to make sure we stay united and we work as a team and make sure that the next election, whatever comes, sees a Labour government agenda and I genuinely think there can be a Labour government with Jeremy Corbyn as our prime minister."
Regular attendees of the Labour conference said this year's event was the largest they'd seen in years, reporting scores of delegates turned away from key fringe events.
The uptick in attendance follows Mr Corbyn's shock near-win in the July election.
Moderate Labour figures said delegates belonging to the internal hard-left activist group Momentum, which backs Jeremy Corbyn, outnumbered them by 800 compared with 360 moderates.
Around a further 100 delegates are considered non-aligned and roughly 300 belong to the trade unions.
