According to a report published by the Jewish Chronicle today, Labour’s London mayoral candidate frequently called for sanctions against Israel whilst his party was in government.
This follows weeks of campaigning from Khan, who has claimed that he opposes the boycotts, sanctions and divestment movement targeting Israel.
The JC reported that around the time of Israel’s Cast Lead operation in Gaza, a letter from Khan’s Parliamentary office manager to a meeting of the hard-left Stop the War Coalition in Wandsworth revealed the extent of Khan’s involvement in the boycott lobby.
In this letter, the office manager stated that Khan had “regularly” been in contact with then Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Middle East Minister Bill Rammell: “He also wrote to David Miliband… asking that sanctions be brought against Israel”.
The letter continued: “Sadiq’s commitment to the situation in Palestine is longstanding and will, I can assure you, continue into the future… A fortnight ago Sadiq was a principal speaker at the launch of the Labour Friends of Palestine group, which has been set up to help to ensure the Palestinian voice is represented amongst MPs and the Labour party”.
This report comes amidst a string of controversies in Khan’s mayoral campaign; one of his leading aides recently resigned following his suspension for posting a number of offensive messages on Twitter.
The full report can be found here.
