Former Khan adviser moves to Lib Dems over knife crime

Leroy Logan (left) announced he would join the Lib Dems, alongside Siobhan Benita and Chuka Umunna

Sadiq Khan's former policing adviser has joined the Liberal Democrats, saying his children were no longer safe in London due to rising violence.

Leroy Logan, a former police superintendent, said he quit the Labour Party over the London mayor's failure to "grasp" knife crime.

Mr Logan will now become policing adviser to the Lib Dem mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita.

Mr Khan said he was wished Mr Logan "all the best of luck in the Lib Dems".

"I think lots of parents, me included, are concerned about safety in London and across the country," the mayor added.

"One of the things I've been keen to do since I became mayor is to persuade the government to realise that their cuts over the last nine years have consequences."

Sadiq Khan said he would "never apologise" for his policing policies

Speaking at the Lib Dem's conference, Mr Logan said: "I've seen my children and their generation grow up in fear.

"It's so tangible. It's been normalised to such an extent it can happen anywhere, not just small pockets of deprived areas."

Mr Logan said the mayor "doesn't really understand" knife crime, and had "isolated himself" on the issue.

"He's surrounded himself with people who think they are problem solvers, but are creating more problems on the street because they've lost touch with what is going on."

Leroy Logan is the former chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association

Mr Logan previously criticised the choice of Lib Peck to run London's Violence Reduction Unit - a role he had also applied for.

Ms Benita, who is running in London's 2020 Mayoral election, said: "Sadiq has wasted his mayoral term in not addressing this issue with the urgency it needs.

"While he continues to blame other people, our young children in London continue to be traumatised, petrified and at risk. There is so, so much more we can do."