Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan said "propagandists of division and hostility" between Jewish and Muslim communities must be stopped.

In a speech to the Union of Jewish Students, the Labour MP also said he will tackle the issue of hate preachers in London universities if he becomes mayor.

Addressing the audience in Finchley, he said: "We have a responsibility to tell them and the rest of the world that they're wrong."

He added: "It’s sad, but there are a great many people who say that we shouldn’t get on - a room full of Jews and me, a Muslim.

"They say that we’re very different. That we have fundamentally opposed world views.

"You’ll hear it from Muslims and Jews alike – from community leaders, religious leaders and others. They are the propagandists of division and hostility between our communities."

"Well they’re wrong."

Tackling race hate is a priority

Mr Khan has vowed to put issues of hate crimes and radicalisation at the forefront of his role should he be elected.

He said: "As Mayor, I’ll make tackling hate crimes – including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism– a far higher priority for the Metropolitan police .

"I’ll ensure we provide the resources necessary to keep our communities safe.

"And I’ll work with London universities to ensure that anti-Semitic or Islamophobic preachers of hate are not welcome in any university in our city – and are not given a platform for their poisonous views."

Defining himself as a proud and patriotic Londoner who wants to reflect a modern city, he said London's melting pot of different cultures and its tolerance is what extremists oppose.

In the speech, he talked of his aim to push Muslims to challenge extremists and work with internet providers to ban radicalising websites.

"You ask any Londoner what ‘real London food’ is, and they’ll tell you the curry houses of Tooting, or the bagels on brick lane or the Jamaican cafes in Kilburn or the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.

"We are defined by our diversity.

"That’s why the rise of extremism amongst British Muslims is so deeply concerning.

"Theirs is an ideology that is violently opposed to London’s identity."