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Fact check: Mayor Sadiq Khan thinks London is ‘one of the safest’ cities in the world
Sadiq Khan can be forgiven for his bias in calling the capital “the best city in the world,” but also calling it “one of the safest” while homicide rates spike comes across as either tone-deaf or outright untrue.
Khan took to Twitter with a promotional video aimed at reducing knife crime amongst young Londoners and the accompanying message:
“London is the best city in the world, full of opportunity, and one of the safest. But too many of our young people are being senselessly lost to knife crime. Share our video today and help us carry a new message.”
Whether London really is “the best city in the world” is in the eye of the beholder – and, in this case, the beholder is the mayor, after all. As for his claim that London is “one of the safest” cities... it’s not even in the top 10.
A 2017 report by The Economist ranked the safety of 60 cities around the world based on several factors, including personal security, digital security, health security, and infrastructure security. London came in at number 20 in the world’s overall safe cities index, being beaten by cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Seoul and Barcelona.
my 21yo daughter went to london with a friend recently - she'd never been before and heard it was vibrant and multicultural and like that idea - she came back terrified and will never go there again. She found it horrific, hostile and violent
— Jo H
