Sadiq Khan is blasted as ‘irresponsible’ for hosting London Mayor’s Question Time with hundreds of people despite mass-gatherings being cancelled due to coronavirus
- Sadiq Khan hosted People’s Question Time at the Battersea Arts Centre, London
- Mayoral candidate Rory Stewart slammed the ‘totally irresponsible’ decision
- He is warning large public gatherings should be cancelled, and schools closed
The Mayor of London was today branded ‘totally irresponsible’ after he pressed on with Question Time despite health officials warning against large public gatherings.
Sadiq Khan last night hosted a sold-out People’s Question Time at the Battersea Arts Centre in Wandsworth, southwest London, which has a capacity for some 640 people.
But Mayoral candidate Rory Stewart slammed the decision, warning large public gatherings should be cancelled and schools closed in a bid to prevent coronavirus spreading further.
Sadiq Khan last night hosted People’s Question Time in the Grand Hall of the Battersea Arts Centre in Wandsworth – which has a capacity for some 640 people
In a video posted on social media, the Mayor (pictured last night), said: ‘We should be carrying on doing what we’ve been doing’
Mayoral candidate Rory Stewart slammed the decision, warning large public gatherings should be cancelled and schools closed in a bid to prevent coronavirus spreading further
Stewart told Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning that he deems it necessary to shut down schools and public gatherings as the impact of the virus gains pace.
He warned the impact this would have on Britain’s economy would be ‘severe’ but a necessary precaution.
He told the show: ‘t’s very important to understand that dealing with a virus like this is very costly, but you have to take that impact because if you don’t… this virus currently doubles every 3-6 days.
‘If it doubles every three days, we’d go from the current caseload we have now to potentially over 100,000 cases within 24 days.
‘You have to get on top of this. That’s why it was totally irresponsible to gather all those MPs together for the Budget.
‘It was completely irresponsible of the Mayor yesterday to hold a Mayor’s Question Time where he filled the room full of people. Responsible leaders should not be doing this.’
Hundreds of Londoners came together for the packed meeting in southwest London
People at the sold-out event were given the opportunity to put their questions to the Mayor
But Khan appeared unfazed in the face of COVID-19, telling his one million Twitter followers he was following the advice of Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty.
In a video posted on social media, Khan said: ‘We should be carrying on doing what we’ve been doing.
‘Go to work as normal. Use the bus and the tube.’
In a statement, the London Assembly said: ‘The UK Chief Medical Officer has assessed the risk to the public as moderate.
‘We are aware that this is a fast-moving situation and we are in regular contact with Public Health England to ensure we are ready to take any action required. At present the current advice is for people to go about their daily lives and there are no plans to cancel this event.
‘We will be monitoring the situation closely and will notify Londoners if there are any changes.’