Mayor's Question Time recap: Sadiq Khan quizzed on terrorism, housing, firearms police and fares freeze

That's all from us here at City Hall - have your questions been answered?

We’re wrapping up here at City Hall’s Mayor’s Question Time, and will bring you all the latest news from the meeting and if you have any comments or questions, share your thoughts on the blog at the bottom or tweet us @getwestlondon and @amitacjoshi reporting from City Hall.

Air quality is just one issue why Gatwick expansion is better than Heathrow third runway

Mr Khan, on third runway, says there are so many reasons why it should be Gatwick and hopes new Prime Minister Theresa May chooses Gatwick - and soon.

London's new operation of heavily armed police needed to 'not shy away from threat level'

The Mayor says he acknowledges people find heavily armed policemen an alarming sight, but his priority is he “cant shy away” from the threat level.

“It’s important to show we are prepared in the appropriate way, through operation Hercules” so Londoners know there is no reason to be alarmed.

The Met Police will use it to protect public from serious threats, he adds.

However Len Duvall, Labour, says the imagery detracts from the message and there’s a lot of work Met needs to do, such as engage with young people who have a different image of what policing looks like like in the city, potentially misunderstanding the role of armed police.

Mr Khan responds and says, “We have to accept that for very good reasons armed officers have to be anonymous for operational reasons.

“Are we letting the bad guys know what we do? In a way we WANT them to know what we are doing.

“We want to reassure the public and encourage Londoners to report any suspicions.”

Why won't the Mayor speak to trade unions about rail industrial strike action?

Mr Khan, when asked why he won’t speak to trade unions for rail companies (RMT) to tackle strike issues, he responds that the previous Mayor did not ever speak to the RMT about southern strike action.

He has previously been critical about the train company, but has no plans to speak to the unions about their action.

The Mayor says: “It’s not realistic for me to get involved in all industrial action.”

“Londoners are inconvenienced by many things.”

But Assembly Members say as Mayor of London, he “could take action today, but is refusing to”.

Twitter users joked last week that the two-day strike by Southern Rail conductors had actually improved the service.

Suburban trains WILL be run by TfL in the future

Mr Khan says suburban trains will be run by TfL in the future - “let the team go and help them”.

He adds timelines for those to come under the Mayor’s running need to be met (2021).

QUESTION: How can London improve cardiac arrests survival rates?

On cardiac arrests in London, Mr Khan says the survival rates remain “stubbornly low” and after meeting the Chief Executive of the NHS in London, he says the police and ambulance are actively progressing plans so that all vehicles have defibrillation equipment.

When asked if he could lobby government to get defibrillators in public places, he says “of course” he will try to do this.

Can national rail fares be frozen too by the Mayor?

Mr Khan strongly urges the fare freeze he pledged in his mayoral campaign are still on track. Under Boris Johnson, he tells City Hall, fares went up 42% in 8 years.

He adds national rail fares are not something for him to deliver.

Keith Prince, Conservative, asks if he has been given any advice on national fares, to which he replies he has not.

Mr Khan also says there is no fares advice to be published (as Mr Johnson did), because he hasn’t received any advice - BUT if he is given advice from Transport from London, he will publish it.

This week, Mr Khan’s new Hopper bus and tram tickets came into effect, allowing passengers to get a second journey for free on their ticket, if started within an hour of the first.

Will the Mayor be meeting with Air BnB company to discuss short term letting in London?

Tom Copley, of Labour, asks about how websites such as “Air BnB” are not being monitored, and would the Mayor meet with the site to discuss rules aren’t flouted.

The site has been banned in Berlin due to short term letting clashes between local authorities and the company.

Mr Khan said he hasn’t been approached about it, but is happy to hear about any concerns local authorities have

QUESTION: Do you have enough resources to deliver a housing plan?

Mr Khan says there is a new TfL board, but if we need more expertise, they will be brought in and it is kept under review.

'I cannot set target for affordable housing' admits Mayor

“Unfortunately moving towards affordable homes plan will take time.

Mr Khan admits it cannot set target for affordable housing because the current plan is having to be used, but will make decisions more transparent.

On London's first taxi and private hire action plan

London’s first taxi and private hire action plan was delivered by the Mayor on Tuesday (August 14).

He says his main priority is zero emission taxis and he will be lobbying the Government to see what can be done about the issue.

He also adds it’s important to support “black taxis” if the iconic fleet are not to become a relic of the city.

QUESTION: What will the Mayor do to keep women safe from having to wear certain clothing?

Mr Kurten, UKIP, says those following Anjem Choudary have been “patrolling London’s streets telling people what to wear”, to which Mr Khan says those incidents will be stopped as soon as they hear of them.

The Mayor adds “if there are particular examples” of such cases where women feel uncomfortable walking in certain areas due to this, he will look into it, but is limited with his powers.

'I don't think it's for me to tell women what to wear' on the burkini ban

Mr Khan says “it’s not for me to tell women what to wear” and women should choose what they do with their bodies and wear what they want on the beach.

When asks if he agrees with France’s policy on banning the burkini, Mr Khan replies in a tongue in cheek manner that he didn’t think David Kurten, of the UKIP party, would be following up France’s policies.

He says with regards to clothing, people should have a choice on what they want to wear, although he “personally doesn’t like wearing skirts” when asked about whether a ban on clothing such as skirts are banned in certain countries is correct.

A protest ‘beach party’ was recently held outside the French Embassy in Knightsbridge against the decision to ban Muslim women wearing burkinis in France.

QUESTION: How can prison terror radicalisation be handled?

Mr Khan has a record of not agreeing with the tactics used in prisons to tackle radicalisation and programmes used by the government to de-radicalise people.

In prison, Mr Khan says in prison you have a “captive audience”, and that should be used positively.

Unmesh Desai, of Labour, asks how people who might have been radicalised in prison can be handled?

Mr Khan replies imams should have the confidence to support them in prison, to “not be afraid to isolate people who will radicalise others”.

Earlier this month, radical hate preacher Anjem Choudary was jailed for recruiting people for terrorist campaigns in the lead up to the 7/7 London bombings.

Londoner's safety from terror attacks review due in Autumn

Mr Khan says a thorough review of Londoners’ safety in light of recent terrorism attacks is due to come out in Autumn and show the Assembly and Police where to improve.

The threat level is “severe”, and London should remain vigilant but continue to enjoy the City.

This video from the Metropolitan Police shows the risks trained officers are willing to take to protect us in the event of an attack.

QUESTION: What is the latest on the Cycle Super Highway?

Caroline Russell, of the Green party, asks if Khan can commit to cycle highways in the outer boroughs, where a lot of “cycling potential” lies.

He replies the office cannot put “all their eggs in one basket”, but will build on Boris Johnson’s success of cycling routes.

Ms Russell adds: “you fares freeze will save average household around £200 a year, but every new London cyclist could save £800 a year. Many thousands of Londoners wont feel confident in taking up cycling.

“Do you agree cycling can put money back into Londoner’s pocket?”

My Khan says he agrees.

She asks: “Will you keep your cycling funding at £155 million throughout his time as Mayor?”

Mr Khan replies: “Rather than speculating on research, let’s see what the business proposal due to come out soon says about how much we should spend.”

QUESTION: Will Local Implementation Plans (LIP) funding stay as they are?

Keith Prince, of the Conservative party, asks if Sadiq Khan can make sure Local Implementation Plans funding of around £148 million and can guarantee that for three years.

Mr Khan says he has a great deal of respect for local authorities and is happy to secure this funding, although not commit to this for three years.

QUESTION: What form will the spit hoods consultation take?

The Deputy Mayor is meeting with the Met to discuss how best the consultation can take place, says Mr Khan.

Kemi Badenoch, Conservative however, said more consultations shows he does not “give a good message to officers on the front line”.

However, the matter is raised of Mr Khan, who was formerly involved with Liberty, could still be “trying to impress friends at left wing organisations such as Liberty”.

QUESTION: Why are you putting other organisations ahead of officer safety?

A Met Police officer has contracted hepatitis due to spitting and biting, a “major concern” (89 cases in 2016 alone).

A number of officers were taken to hospital after this year’s Notting Hill Carnival after being spat at while arresting suspects.

Mr Khan says it’s important officers have the protective equipment they need but people do need to be consulted on the decision.

Tory’s Mr O’Connell says “interfering in policing operations doesn’t go down well with senior Met figures”.

However, the Mayor remains firm that he was disappointed he wasn’t made aware of the decision to trial spit hoods

QUESTION: Why did Mr Khan react so late to the decision to trial the use of spit hoods by the Met Police?

Conservative party Steve O’Connell, asks Sadiq Khan a question in relation to the controversial topic of spit hoods. The Mayor last week stopped a planned trial by Metropolitan police after they were described as ‘inhuman’, but was criticised for doing so.

“Why did you only react to this late stage when Liberty reacted much sooner?”

Mr Khan admits he didn’t know of the Met’s decision to introduce a trial period in the force.

Being asked whether he was “comfortable in interfering in police plans”, to which he replied, “there needs to be public engagement” before such a decision takes place, such as the use of the water cannons, or stop and search procedures or tasered changed.

The Mayor adds as part of a democracy, a discussion needs to take place.

What is the Mayoral Question Time?

Assembly Members regularly question the Mayor as part of their role to hold the Mayor and other bodies to account.

Here we’ll bring you the latest from the Mayor’s Question Time - get involved in the debate at #MQT