Sadiq Khan slammed Zac Goldsmith’s campaign after the Tory candidate targeted leaflets at ethnic minorities and said the "bleak and desperate campaign is typical of the chaos that has engulfed the Tories in recent weeks".
The Labour candidate is one of a string of residents, MPs and councillors who accused Goldsmith of "patronising British Asians" after the leaflets referred to him being the better candidate to protect the gold they keep at home.
Labour Party officials said the tactic "attempts to promote division based on faith and ethnicity."
"There's no need to keep pointing at me and shouting 'he's a Muslim'"
The issue deepened after Goldsmith's referral of Khan as "radical" and "dangerous" based on alleged links with individuals within terrorism organisations.
Khan tweeted Goldsmith and said he has no hesitation in referring to himself as a Muslim and does not need the Tory campaign to point at him to say "he's a Muslim".
Labour's Yvette Cooper referred to Goldsmith's "desperate" campaign to become London mayor as going from "subtle dog-whistle" about Sadiq Khan's Muslim faith, to "a full blown racist scream".
"With each day, the smears and innuendoes get louder," said Cooper.
However, at a City AM Hustings, Khan himself said on the matter, "I don’t think you’re racist, nor do I think you’re Islamophobic, nor do I think the press are Islamophobic or racist."
In an interview with the Huffington Post , Goldsmith defended the campaign and said it was "positive".
“If she is making reference to the questions asked about Sadiq Khan’s past and his links then is she suggesting it’s not legitimate to ask those questions for someone who wants to be Mayor of London?
"If that’s what’s being said, then I think it’s absurd and I think it’s irresponsible."
