London mayor 'worried' about youth radicalisation over Israel-Gaza conflict

Sadiq Khan said the conflict has led to a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in London

The mayor of London said he is "really worried" about young people being radicalised by the Israel-Gaza war.

Sadiq Khan said he was concerned about "another generation having animus [hostility or ill-feeling] in their heart".

He was speaking after attending workshops at County Hall in the capital held by community projects that work to tackle discrimination and extremism.

Reports of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have recently risen.

Mr Khan said he was worried about a "rise of extremism" resulting from the hostilities.

He told the PA news agency: "Unfortunately, we have seen since the disturbances in the Middle East with Hamas's outrageous actions in Israel, but also subsequently the actions in Gaza - an increase in hate crime in London.

"We know from previous disturbances in the Middle East that it does lead to an increase in antisemitism in London."

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Mr Khan said there had also been a "massive increase" in Islamophobia.

The mayor said that it was "incredibly important" for people to report hate crime, adding that City Hall was investing "time, effort and resources in tackling hate and intolerance".

Andy Fearn is the co-executive director at Protection Approaches which works to train Londoners to challenge prejudice and extremism.

He said: "What we're seeing at the moment is not only an increase in Islamophobia and antisemitism - there's also fear that comes with that across Jewish and Muslim communities."

He added that Protection Approaches, which has received grants from the Mayor's Shared Endeavour Fund, was working to help young people challenge hateful behaviour in "safe and meaningful ways" by becoming "active bystanders".

The Shared Endeavour Fund offers grants for organisations that support initiatives in London to challenge racism, intolerance, hate, extremism and terrorism.

Other organisations that attended the workshops included Future Leaders, Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination, and Shout Out UK.

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