The Daily Mail’s seeming fixation with Andy Burnham’s running habits came back to haunt the newspaper last weekend.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester completed this year’s Great Manchester Run, posting an impressive time of 53 minutes and 15 seconds for the 10km course. Sharing his race splits on social media, Burnham took the opportunity to hit back at his critics.

“Have that @DailyMail with your ‘fake running’ stories!” he wrote on X.

The jibe was aimed at a newspaper that has devoted ink space attempting to cast doubt on Burnham’s well-documented enthusiasm for running. In May, the Mail published an article suggesting the Manchester mayor had staged a jog for media attention after he was photographed running amid speculation about his political future.

Under the headline, “Burnham is in the running… but why did the jogging mayor drive home?”, the paper reported:

“After being photographed ‘in the running’ for the Labour leadership on Friday, fitness fan Andy Burnham insisted to sceptics that he had not arranged for his daily jog to be filmed by the media.

“But the Daily Mail can reveal that onlookers were somewhat baffled when – after departing his large, gated Victorian-style home in Merseyside at 12.18pm – Mr Burnham returned 45 minutes later not out of puff on foot, but instead behind the wheel of his VW Golf.”

The article also quoted an anonymous onlooker who claimed the run had been staged, asking how television cameras could have known where to find Burnham if it had not been pre-arranged.

As is often the case, the Mail’s ‘exclusive’ was quickly amplified across the wider right-wing media. GB News presenter Alex Armstrong parroted the accusation on X, writing:

“Have you ever gone for a run, had the national press show up totally out of the blue, then picked up your car up somewhere on the route and drove home? Definitely not all planned.”

Burnham responded directly, explaining that there was a perfectly mundane explanation for the episode.

“It’s part of my regular routine,” he wrote. “I often leave my car at Newton station and do my morning run to pick it up. I did it again today because I had a pint at the match. I would say check it with my neighbours but don’t as they don’t deserve the intrusion on our road.”

The problem with the Mail’s narrative is that Burnham’s commitment to running is hardly new.

He is an experienced amateur runner who has completed two of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, London in 2014 and Boston in 2019, as well as multiple editions of the Great Manchester Run. According to Runner’s World, he completed the London Marathon in 4:26:19, just seven minutes behind the then soon-to-be mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. In Boston, Burnham ran to raise money for charities established in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.

His performance in this year’s Great Manchester Run provided further evidence that his running credentials are genuine. Fellow Labour MP Clive Lewis responded to Burnham’s race splits with admiration, joking:

“By eck lad, you ‘ad your Ready Brek didn’t you? Stuffed me by a good 3-4 mins on those timings.”

For a newspaper that invested considerable effort in implying Burnham’s jogging routine was somehow fabricated, the sight of the Greater Manchester mayor posting a competitive 10km time was an awkward reminder that sometimes a runner is simply a runner.

The post Right-wing media watch – The Mail’s Burnham ‘fake running’ stories exposed appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

Sadiq Khan has been widely praised after intervening to block a proposed £50 million deal between the Metropolitan Police and controversial US tech giant Palantir.

News emerged this week that the Met had planned to award the contract to Palantir in order to expand the use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigations. The software was intended to automate intelligence analysis and had reportedly already been trialled internally to monitor staff behaviour and identify corrupt or failing officers, a programme Scotland Yard described as successful.

However, according to reports in the Guardian, the London Mayor stepped in following what officials described as “serious concerns” over the procurement process.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) said there had been a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules. Officials concluded that the Met had failed to properly assess alternative suppliers and had not sufficiently demonstrated value for money for taxpayers.

But the concerns appear to have gone beyond procedure alone. MOPAC also raised questions about Palantir’s ethics and corporate values, reflecting earlier comments by Khan that Londoners expect public money to go only to companies that “share the values of our city.”

The intervention triggered a backlash from Met figures, who reportedly described the decision as “disappointing.” Police leaders argued that without investment in new technology the force could face cuts to officer numbers, potentially affecting its ability to keep London safe.

Yet for critics of Palantir, the decision represented an example of democratic scrutiny being applied to the growing influence of powerful technology firms within British public institutions.

Palantir was founded by billionaire tech investor and Donald Trump ally Peter Thiel, whose influence in Britain has expanded in recent years. As previously reported by LFF, Palantir secured multiple UK government contracts during and after the pandemic, including extensive work with the Ministry of Defence. In March 2022 alone, the company received a £10 million MoD contract focused on data integration and management.

Thiel himself has also become a controversial figure. His name appeared in material linked to the “Epstein Files,” including emails in which Jeffrey Epstein discussed Brexit with the billionaire investor. In one exchange, Epstein described Britain’s vote to leave the EU as “just the beginning” of a broader “return to tribalism” and a backlash against globalisation.

Investigations by Byline Times have described what they call a wider “Thiel network” operating in Britain, an ecosystem of organisations and influencers seeking to shape debates around free speech, liberal democracy and academia.

Against that backdrop, Khan’s decision has resonated far beyond City Hall procurement rules. Supporters argue the issue is not simply about technology, but about who controls sensitive public data, how policing power is exercised, and whether democratic institutions should become dependent on opaque foreign tech corporations.

“This is real patriotism,” one social media user wrote. “Looking after our data and our justice system away from foreign-controlled companies.”

Another commented: “Important to ensure public funds support companies that truly reflect our values.”

“Good for Sadiq,” wrote another. “Why should Palantir get their hands on our data? I wouldn’t trust them an inch.”

The post Sadiq Khan praised for blocking Met’s £50m Palantir AI deal appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

Sadiq Khan met with the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez this week, two of Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics.

Their talks focused on closer cooperation between London and Spain, the future of the UK’s relationship with the European Union, and the growing challenge of populist politics across Europe.

Sánchez made it clear that Spain would “welcome Britain back into the EU,” a message that resonated strongly with Khan, who has long argued for rebuilding ties with Europe after Brexit.

According to a source close to the London mayor, it was “incredibly powerful” to hear that Spain would be happy to see the UK back into the EU after Brexit did “real damage to London”.

“Sadiq has said it before and he’ll say it again – Brexit has done real damage to London and is costing Londoners, day in, day out, economically, socially and culturally.

“Today’s meeting was about London and Spain standing together – and sending a clear message that progressive, open, internationalist politics isn’t going anywhere,” they added.

It follows Spain’s recent decision to grant a migrant amnesty, potentially allowing up to 500,000 undocumented people to apply for legal status, what Sánchez has called both “an act of justice and a necessity.”

The move charts a notably different course from much of Europe’s tightening grip on migration. 

Khan, the source said, holds “real admiration” for Sánchez’s willingness to speak out on global issues, from Gaza to the broader direction of international politics.

“You know people by the ideals they defend,” they noted. “While others stay quiet, Sánchez has been prepared to call things out.”

The post London and Spain stand together, pushing for progressive, internationalist politics appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

The Mayor of London has given a vote of confidence to Keir Starmer after saying that it would be ‘folly’ to replace the Prime Minister, given all that is happening in the world geopolitically and due to the need for stability during uncertain times.

Sadiq Khan made the comments during an interview with Bloomberg, after the Prime Minister faced pressure from both within and outside his party after revelations about Peter Mandelson’s security vetting process for the role of US ambassador.

Questions have been raised about what the Prime Minister knew and when, given that

Mandelson had failed his security vetting.

However, Khan has given a boost to the Prime Minister.

He was asked by Bloomberg if he thought Starmer would still be prime minister by the end of 2026.

Khan said: “Yes, I do. I think it would be folly, when we’ve got what’s happening in terms of geopolitics, when we see what’s happening in Ukraine and Iran and in Lebanon and the Middle East, when you see the progress we’ve made to change at this stage.”

The Mayor of London also said that people abroad admired the certainty and stability of the UK describing it as our ‘USP’ and asking: “Why do we want to jeopardise our USP by changing leader at this stage?”

He added that Starmer has a majority of 170 in the House of Commons and the next election doesn’t need to take place until the summer of 2029.

“The way I describe it, in football terms, is we’re approaching half time,” Khan said. “We are losing. The opinion polls shouldn’t be ignored.”

“But there’s so much to go in the game and the most important poll is what happens at the final whistle.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

The post Sadiq Khan says it would be ‘folly’ for Keir Starmer to be replaced this this year appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has reignited his feud with Donald Trump, criticising the U.S. President for his threats to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran and for threatening ‘a whole civilisation will die’.

The U.S. and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire agreement earlier this week, however Trump had threatened massive strikes against Iranian energy and transportation infrastructure unless a deal was reached.

He issued an apocalyptic warning to Iran’s leaders to increase the pressure on them to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Gulf waterway through which about 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass.

“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, he posted on Truth Social.

Those comments were widely condemned, with some warning that his actions could amount to war crimes.

Among those critics is Sadiq Khan, who told the Mirror that Trump’s “gratuitously offensive” threats against Iran need calling out like Vladimir Putin.

Asked what he thought about Trump’s comments, Sir Sadiq told The Mirror: “I think it’s, frankly, gratuitously offensive for the leader of the free world to talk about a civilization in this way.

“And actually, for those that understand history, arguably, Iran is the cradle of civilization, but also, I’m not sure why he needs to be so offensive to the followers of the religion of Islam the way he does, that is not the way to have a sustainable, permanent ceasefire. That is not the way to bring people together – and I think that’s one of the responsibilities, being the leader of the free world.

“I hope this president, at some stage, will realise the responsibility that comes with being the President of the United States of America.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

The post Sadiq Khan slams Trump for threatening a ‘whole civilisation will die’ appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

If there are two things guaranteed to provoke outrage on the British right, they are Sadiq Khan and any attempt to regulate motorists. Bringing the two together is guaranteed to generate performative fury among our right-wing brethren.

This week’s reaction to proposed AI-powered traffic enforcement is a textbook example.

A headline in the Telegraph thundered: “Sadiq Khan plots new AI cameras in latest driver crackdown,” accompanied by warnings of “intrusive” technology and a looming “citywide rollout.”

The framing is breathless, but the underlying policy is rather more mundane: trialling camera systems, led by Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, to enforce existing laws against dangerous driving.

The initiative forms part of London’s “Vision Zero” strategy, one of 43 proposals aimed at eliminating road deaths. The penalties cited are not new or extraordinary: £200 and six penalty points for using a mobile phone while driving, and fines of up to £500 for failing to wear a seatbelt. These are longstanding rules designed to prevent avoidable harm.

Evidence from elsewhere suggests enforcement works. After similar cameras were introduced in Devon and Cornwall, detections of drivers using phones or neglecting seatbelts rose sharply. Critics present this as evidence of overreach, while a more straightforward interpretation is that the technology is identifying behaviour that was already illegal, and dangerous.

Khan also noted how cities such as New York City and Paris have implemented comparable measures in efforts to reduce traffic fatalities, meaning London is playing catchup rather than taking an authoritarian leap.

But much of the backlash hinges on civil liberties concerns. The Telegraph cites warnings by campaign group Big Brother Watch that such systems risk turning London into a surveillance state, with a spokesperson arguing the technology treats “every driver as a potential suspect.”

While the expansion of surveillance does deserve scrutiny, particularly where biometric data may be involved, the politics behind the outrage are difficult to ignore. Big Brother Watch was founded by Mark Littlewood, former director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and remains closely aligned with a libertarian, anti-regulatory worldview.

Littlewood himself has been associated with the deregulatory agenda that underpinned Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership, which, as we know, culminated in market turmoil and Truss to resign after 49 days in the job. Littlewood is now involved in efforts to push the Conservative Party further toward a “small state” agenda with his PopCon (Popular Conservatism) group.

Seen in that light, opposition to traffic enforcement technology is less surprising. It reflects a broader ideological resistance to state intervention, whether in markets, public health, or road safety.

Critics from City Hall Conservatives have accused Khan of being “anti-motorist.” His response is simple: he is not “anti-motorist,” but “anti-death.”

The post Right-Wing Media Watch: Meltdown over Sadiq Khan’s AI road safety plan appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has broken his silence and hit back after a Tory MP launched an Islamophobic tirade against an open Iftaar event hosted in Trafalgar Square.

Pressure is mounting on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to sack Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy after he said an Open Iftar event in Trafalgar Square was ‘not welcome’. 

He posted on X: “Too many are too polite to say this. But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.

“The adhan – which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination.

“Perform these rituals in mosques if you wish. But they are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions.”

People were quick to point out that Timothy didn’t appear to have a problem with people of other faiths holding prayers and celebrations in Trafalgar Square but only Muslims.

The event was also attended by Sadiq Khan. An iftar is a meal shared at the end of a day of fasting during Ramadan, with prayers commonly taking place before or during.

The issue was raised at PMQs where Keir Starmer called on Badenoch to show some backbone and sack Timothy. He said: “When I see religious events in Trafalgar Square, when I see Hindus celebrating Diwali, when I see Jews celebrating Chanukah Live, when I see Christians celebrating the passion of Christ or Muslims praying, that shows the great strength of our diverse city and country.

“I’ve never heard her party call out anything other than the Muslim events. It’s only when Muslims are praying. The only conclusion is the Tory Party has got a problem with Muslims.”

Now Sadiq Khan has also hit back, telling an interview with La Repubblica: “It’s Muslims today, who will it be tomorrow? Jewish people? Who the day after? Hindu people? This sort of mono-ethnic, mono-nationalistic view the Conservatives have is a carbon copy of President Trump.

“These guys are pound-shop President Trumps, they should be ashamed of themselves.” The London Mayor questioned what was objectionable about seeing Muslims celebrating their religion – saying they were the sort of comments “I’d expect from the far right” in the past.

He said: “I’m heartbroken, I’m sad, I’m angry, and I can understand why many British Muslims are scared by somebody, who is so senior, who wants to be the Lord Chancellor, saying what he said.

“But worryingly, his leader, somebody who wants to be the prime minister, Kemi Badenoch, thinking it is British values to single out Muslims. It is British values to respect each other.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

The post Sadiq Khan hits back at Tory MP’s Islamophobic attack on open Iftaar appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said that Labour should campaign to take the UK back into the EU at the next general election. 

Khan told Italian newspaper La Repubblica last night that the UK’s return to the EU is “inevitable” and questioned “why delay the inevitable?”. 

Khan said that Labour should “go into the next elections with a promise to rejoin the EU”, without going through a second referendum.

The London Mayor’s stance goes much further than the Labour government’s current position, which is currently to keep to Brexit’s “red lines” while seeking closer ties with the bloc. 

Khan said that the UK should rejoin the customs union and single market by the end of this Parliament. He said that any trade deal with the EU is “less good” than being in the customs union. 

He argued his position, saying: “I see on a daily basis the damage Brexit has done — not just to London, but to Londoners”. 

He said that the damage is “humongous” economically, socially and culturally, and that incremental steps to strengthen ties with the EU are not enough.

The Mayor of London cited new research by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and Goldman Sachs, which found that the UK economy would have grown by an additional 10% if it weren’t for Brexit. 

He added that in an “incredibly unstable world” and with Donald Trump in power, “Europe is our only security”. 

Khan said: “I think it’s inevitable, the direction of travel, at some stage we’re going to rejoin the European Union. Why have additional pain in the meantime? Why delay the inevitable?”.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

The post Sadiq Khan calls for Labour to campaign for UK to rejoin EU at the next election appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

Sadiq Khan has told Keir Starmer to ditch his “flawed strategy” of taking progressive voters for granted, after Labour came third in the Gorton and Denton by-election last week.

The Mayor of London criticised the prime minister for branding the Green party “extreme”, and said that trying to compete with Reform is “inauthentic” and a betrayal of Labour values.

In an article for the Guardian, Khan said that “there was no sugar-coating” that losing Gorton and Denton, a seat Labour had held for nearly a century, was “a terrible result”.

Khan stated that “A political strategy of taking liberal, progressive voters for granted is clearly flawed. The national Labour party and government doesn’t just need to reflect on this result, but fundamentally rethink its approach.”

He added that “the vast majority of those who are thinking of voting Green are not extreme”, and that “calling them extreme will only turn more people away”.

Khan referred to how he has called out Trump for racism and sexism, and lobbying for the UK to rejoin the EU customs union and spoken out about the killing of Palestinians. 

Read more

Khan said: “Staying quiet on these issues and trying to compete with Reform on the right of politics not only feels inauthentic – at a time when authenticity is more prized in politics than ever – but a betrayal of what Labour is supposed to represent. We must address the concerns and fears of voters, not play on them.”

Khan praised Starmer’s “good work” on free breakfast clubs and workers’ rights, and added that he was not calling for Starmer to resign. 

However, he said he felt the prime minister’s achievements were being overshadowed by “missteps and political positioning” on issues such as Gaza, Brexit and migration.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

The post Sadiq Khan warns Labour to stop taking progressive voters for granted appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.