A Government minister has distanced himself from a Conservative Party advert attacking London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s record on crime.
Mr Khan has criticised the Tories for trying to “mislead Londoners” with the social media video, which claims the capital is “teetering on the brink of chaos” under his watch.
The Conservatives were forced to delete the original clip, posted on X, formerly Twitter, after facing criticism for using scenes of chaos from a New York City subway station instead of London.
The ad in support of Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall was replaced with a video from which the footage of a 2017 stampede at New York’s Penn Station had been cut.
Seizing on opposition to Mr Khan’s expansion of a tax on polluting vehicles — the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) — the film also warns of “squads of Ulez enforcers dressed in black, faces covered with masks, terrorising communities at the beck and call of their Labour Mayor master, who has implemented a tax on driving, forcing people to stay inside or go underground”.
“Gripped by the tendrils of rising crime, London citizens stay inside,” an ominous US-accented narrator says over black-and-white footage.
Science minister Andrew Griffith said on Wednesday that he has “not seen any Ulez enforcers” in London as he distanced himself from the “execution” of the advert.
He told Times Radio: “I have not seen any Ulez enforcers.
“But there is a real fear of crime. And that is what we should focus on. Not the execution of a particular ad, but that real fear.
“And I don’t think we’re going to have to look very far, tragically, into the actual statistics to see that.”
On Tuesday, Mr Khan accused the Tories of spreading “misinformation”.
He told the PA news agency that Londoners are “disgusted that the Conservatives will try and mislead” them.
“It beggars belief that you’ve got somebody aspiring to be the mayor of this great city talking down this great city, but using lies, misinformation, but also images and pictures from another country, another city.
“My worry is we’re going to have six weeks of this, another divisive campaign where the Tories spread lies, misinformation.
“What I’d say in a respectful way to the Tories and my Tory opponent is, stop it.”
Mr Khan took office in 2016 and is seeking an unprecedented third term in office.
Ms Hall is running against the Labour incumbent in the London mayoral election on May 2.
Her campaign denied that it issued the ad, which came from Conservative central office.
Despite the backlash, the Tories followed up the London ad with another one attacking Birmingham City Council.
The Labour-run council declared itself effectively bankrupt last autumn and has been forced to raise council tax by 21%.
The Tory video speaks of a “tale of mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility” and “piled-high rubbish and boarded-up buildings” in the West Midlands city.
