Sadiq Khan has avoided getting drawn into the royal ‘civil war’ by turning down an invite to Harry and Meghan’s £11million Montecito mansion during his ‘vanity’ tour of the US days before he was due to see William and the Queen.
After refusing the Mayor’s invite to them to star at the glitzy Los Angeles party that he hosted last week, the Sussexes offered to take over. This five-day trip is estimated to have cost taxpayers many thousands of pounds.
Khan refused the offer because of ‘logistical challenges’. These apparently included a busy schedule and the 90-minute drive from his party in West Hollywood to their nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom home in upscale Montecito, Santa Barbara – reportedly the site of a new Netflix Kardashians-style documentary series.
A spokesman for the Archewell Foundation did not deny the story when contacted by The Standard.
Norman Baker (ex-Lib Dem Transport Secretary, and the author of a book titled The Royal Family), said he was surprised at the Sussexes’ decision to invite Mr Khan.
MailOnline: ‘Although Harry is semi-divorced, Meghan needs to be careful to not show any political allegiance.’ “Sadiq Khan had the right decision to decline this invitation.
Khan (51), is an old friend of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and it’s likely that he wants to stay out of the “civil war” between the Sussexes, Prince William and the rest the Royal Family. The Mayor met William before the FA Cup final last weekend, and also appeared alongside the Queen during the opening of Crossrail on Tuesday.
Meghan, aged 40, is believed have ambitions to become a politician. Past reports indicate that Meghan had met with high-ranking Democrats to help build campaigns and fund raising teams to run for the US Presidency. Sources close to the couple have previously declined to comment on the rumours, but the couple have made little secret of their political beliefs.
They made a subtle attack against Donald Trump last year by asking voters to reject hate speech. A spokesman for Trump’s family described it as an appeal for decency. Trump has himself declared that he was ‘not a fan’ of Meghan, and – in a recent interview with Piers Morgan – claimed she was leading Prince Harry, 37, ‘by the nose’.
2020: A friend of the Duchess said to Vanity Fair magazine, “One of the reasons she didn’t give up American citizenship when she got married to the Royal Family” that was because she wanted to continue the possibility to enter Washington politics.
Washington DC has been abuzz with rumours. Valerie Biden, the sister of President Joe Biden, invited the duchess to the Democratic Party, and said that she would “of course” make a great presidential candidate.
After turning down an invitation from Sadiq Khan’s LA party last week, the Sussexes invited him to Santa Barbara. He is seen here greeting James Corden.
Khan rejected the offer because of ‘logistical challenges’. This included an overloaded schedule and the 90-minute drive between his West Hollywood party and their Santa Barbara home.
Talking with Corden at the party last week, which featured other guests representing the ‘creative industry’, Khan
Meghan and Harry took three staff members with them to Khan’s party. It was held last Tuesday. James Holt (pictured), Nick Clegg’s former communications chief. He is now the executive director at Archewell Foundation.
The Queen, dressed in sunny yellow, arrived at Paddington at 11.32 AM. She stepped carefully from the transparent lift, while still holding a walking stick, and smiled warmly as she joined Sadiq Khan, Boris Johnson, and other guests.
Meghan and Harry sent three members of staff to Mr Khan’s party, held on Tuesday last week, including James Holt, Nick Clegg’s former communications chief who is now executive director of the Archewell Foundation.
The bash was held at Holloway House, part of the Soho House empire, with a raft of celebrities in attendance, including James Corden and Richard Curtis.
Today’s development follows reports the Sussexes are filming an ‘at-home docuseries’ for Netflix so the streaming giant can get its ‘pound of flesh’ as part of their $100million (£82m) Megxit streaming deal.
The Sussexes were said to have invited cameras into their house for a reality-type show that may be inspired by The Osbournes. But it’s not known whether the children of Archie, three years old, and Lilibet (11 months), will feature.
“I believe it’s fair that Netflix is getting his pound of flesh,” a Hollywood insider who knew about the project told Page Six.
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were the pioneers of the at-home reality show. Kim Kardashians took over the reigns in season 20 and now have a combined $1.4billion.
It would suit Harry and Meghan. They have demanded full control of their media messaging ever since they fled the UK in 2020. They also wanted privacy so the reality show raised questions among royal experts, who suggested that it was a paradox.
Just two weeks remain before the Sussexes arrive in the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Buckingham Palace is worried that this story will fuel transatlantic hatred against the Royal Family.
Meanwhile, Mr Khan’s US jaunt has been savaged by critics, who questioned whether the transatlantic trip is ‘to promote London or to promote himself’.
Critics have suggested that Mayor Khan is so keen for publicity on the trip he calls a £10million trade mission that even a cup of coffee with former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, was turned into a photo op.
After a trip across the United States to Silicon Valley, California, the Mayor of London made headlines again after saying that Donald Trump’s tenure as president had led to an increase in racist abuse towards him. He also urged Elon Musk to not allow the billionaire to return to Twitter until he is certain Trump has ‘learned his lessons’.
MailOnline was informed by London Conservatives that there were questions regarding ‘probity’ and ‘transparency’ at the Mayor’s Office. MailOnline’s request to find out the cost of the trip for Londoners who received a 8.8 percent increase in their council taxes, was denied.
Suspicions were raised after Mr Khan shared a tweet thanking United Airlines for ‘getting me to NYC safely’, prompting speculation the £12bn airline may have provided free or discounted flights.
City Hall said the complete cost of the visit would be calculated upon Mr Khan’s return home to London.
But a week-long trip to China by Boris Johnson when he was mayor cost taxpayers £65,000 due to flights, accommodation and expenses for him and his entourage.
London Mayor was widely criticised over his decision to visit America during the peak of the cost-of-living crisis. Opponents questioned whether it was to promote London or himself.
After he traveled across America to Silicon Valley, California, he made headlines again after saying that Donald Trump’s tenure as president had led to an increase in racist abuse. He also urged Elon Musk to not allow the billionaire to return to Twitter until he is certain Trump has ‘learned his lessons’.
Prince Harry and Meghan markle are filming for Netflix an “at-home-with-the Sussexes-style” docuseries. It is believed that the series was shot during their visit to New York in September.
Page Six claims that Harry, aged 37, and Meghan (40), have been filming since several months. It isn’t known if Archie and Lilibet have also allowed them to film.
Mr Khan visited Los Angeles, California’s licensed cannabis cultivation company last week as part of his US trip. One Tory opponent at City Hall claimed that Khan’s face looked so blank they inquired: “Can you just smell the stuff?”
Khan had thrown the first pitch earlier in the week at the San Francisco Giants-Colorado Rockies baseball match at Oracle Park
He was asked for a selfie with Female Founders of London & Partners’ trade mission at Plug & Play in Silicon Valley
Hillary Clinton makes a joke of the Labour Mayor as they have supper at New York’s Clinton Foundation offices
Sadiq Khan launches latest battle in his war on motorists: Consultation on Mayor’s plans to expand the £12.50-a-day Ultra Low Emission Zone
Laurence Dollimore, MailOnline
Sadiq Khan started a consultation about plans to extend London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, (Ulez), to include the entirety of the city. This is to help address London’s toxic air crisis.
According to the mayor, the plan is to expand the boundaries of the scheme from the North Circular Roads and South Circular Roads to all Greater London beginning August 29th next year.
Drivers of vehicles which do not comply with minimum emissions standards are charged a daily fee of £12.50 for entering the Ulez.
The PA news agency has done an analysis and found that the area will be home to more than 3.5million more people if the expansion is approved.
The mayor’s office estimated that an additional 135,000 vehicles would be affected, meaning it could rake in almost £1.7million extra per day.
This is after LTNs, the hated Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), were introduced. LTNs closed roads to through traffic to help reduce the pollution in residential areas.
London’s LTNs, which were increasing congestion in the area and causing ‘no material changes in air quality’ were evicted last year.
London’s drivers have been upset by policies like the Congestion Charge extension and the price hike. In addition, cycle lanes were also rejected as they cause longer journey times.
Transport for London’s (TfL), the Mayor Khan’s Office warned of a capital “toxic air crisis” and cited around 4,000 deaths from filthy, polluted, air in 2019.
In light of suggestions that commercial sponsorship or public cash might be financing the trip to London, Neil Garratt from the London Assembly, who represents the Conservative economic spokesperson in London, asked the Mayor for information about the costs and who paid them.
Mr Garratt told MailOnline Mr Khan has been ‘swanning around America promoting himself’ while on a taxpayer-funded ‘jolly overseas’, hours after Home Secretary Priti Patel said his ‘time would be better spent focusing on knife and drug crime in London’ rather than being in America.
‘The insider view at City Hall is he’s leaving politics at the end of his second term, so this week looks more like a self-promoting “gizza job” tour at taxpayers’ expense’, Mr Garratt said, adding: Is it a visit for the Mayor to help promote London? That should be done on the Mayor’s own, and not with public money.
MailOnline was informed by London Conservatives that there were questions regarding ‘probity’ and ‘transparency’ at the Mayor’s Office. They had asked for information about the cost of the trip to Londoners who received a 8.8 percent increase in their council taxes.
Suspicions were raised after Mr Khan shared a tweet thanking United Airlines for ‘getting me to NYC safely’, prompting speculation the £12bn airline may have provided free or discounted flights.
City Hall said the complete cost of the visit would be estimated upon Mr Khan’s return home to London. But a week-long trip to China by Boris Johnson when he was mayor cost taxpayers £65,000 due to flights, accommodation and expenses for him and his entourage.
Khan raised eyebrows when he went on a ‘fact seeking mission’ to California and visited a cannabis farm in order to study the possible benefits of legalizing marijuana in the city. He was already at an LA party hours earlier with James Corden (late-night TV host from London), whom he had sex at a reception. Richard Curtis, Love Actually’s director, also joined him.
The former Labour MP, who previously admitted smoking cannabis on a friend’s stag do in Amsterdam in his twenties, stared blankly at the plants as he wandered through them. Tory Leader at City Hall, Susan Hall, tweeted a picture of the visit and said: ‘That’s an interesting look on his face. Is it possible to get high just by smelling the substance?
Priti Patel from Tory Home Secretary was angry at Priti’s visit to the Drug Farm. She reminded Priti that he did not have the ability to amend the Criminal Law and suggested his “time be spent focusing more on London’s knife-and drug crime.”
Mr Khan also included New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where he launched a £10million campaign to bring more tourists to the British capital.
Last week, the Mayor’s spokesperson stated that the Mayor was in America to drum for London. Our continued recovery from the pandemic is dependent on attracting more international tourists, businesses and investments to our city. London has almost one-fifth of its jobs made up by tourists, and it contributes close to 12 percent to the Gross Domestic Product.
“The Mayor will keep the cost of this visit as low and affordable as possible, maximising the value of money. United Airlines and Greater London Authority have a wider agreement regarding flight arrangements.
Sadiq Khan and the Coldstream Guards during the “Let’s Do London” in a “Times Square Takeover.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, walks towards a TV interview in New York City during his first 5 day trip to the USA
Last Monday Mr Khan attended the launch of an international tourism campaign – Let’s Do London – in Times Square, after being photographed wandering around New York like a tourus
While Mr Khan was in America for tourism promotion, he still managed to find time to stand on the San Francisco Giants’ stadium stage to pitch the ceremonial first pitch.
Even though he was busy the day before, he had managed to get some practice in Central Park, New York.
On Monday, Mr Khan met with Hilary Clinton, the Mayor of New York and on Tuesday, he visited Silicon Valley, where he was able to meet with executives at Google and LinkedIn.
The mayor was also present to discuss whether Donald Trump should return on Twitter following the suggestion of Elon Musk that he would restore his account.
Mayor Khan walks among cannabis plants that are legally being grown at “Traditional”, a licensed Los Angeles facility.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, speaks at the Islamic Centre of Southern California Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, meets Eric Garcetti (Metropolitan of Los Angeles), Wednesday May 11, 2022
Mr Khan said the former president’s period in office had led to a significant rise in racial abuse directed at him – and sharply dropped after he was banned.
In 2016, Mr Trump first criticized the London leader for not responding to the London Bridge terrorist attacks. Then, during a 2019 visit to the UK Mr Khan was called a “stone cold loser” who failed to control crime in the capital.
Khan is the first Muslim mayor elected in a Western major city.
“If Donald Trump uses Twitter in a responsible manner, that is all fine and dandy.
“If someone breaks the rules there must be consequences. We can’t afford to have people believe that social media allows people to act irresponsibly. You see an increase not only in racism, sexism, misogyny, but also divisiveness.
Sadiq Khan met children at the Islamic Centre of Southern California on Day 3 of a five day planned visit to Los Angeles.
Sadiq Khan throws the first pitch in the San Francisco Giants v Colorado Rockies game at Oracle Park. He then spoke to Gabe Kapler, manager of the Giants
London’s Mayor, with his personalized Major League baseball jersey
City Hall revealed that the next US League baseball match will be held in London during this trip.
On the Giants’ Stadium, Khan wore an over-sized jersey that had his name inscribed on it to celebrate.
Reporters said that he was met with a modest reception by the 21,000 people who greeted him during the interval.
He later told ITV London: ‘One of the things I have been making clear during this trip is my aspiration to have London as the sporting capital of the world – not just American football, baseball, boxing, tennis, cricket and so forth, but at some stage we would like the Olympics back as well..’
He was also present at the Los Angeles cannabis farm and created a new group to decriminalize marijuana. This puts him in direct conflict with Keir Sternmer, Labour’s leader.
The spokesperson of the party confirmed that Labour did not support any changes to the drug law.
The national government would still set the drug policy.
Khan takes part in a Q&A with students at Stanford University in California hosted by student Rustom Birdie
Sadiq Khan practice his pitching skills in Central Park, New York
London Mayor said that Lord Charlie Falconer, former justice secretary and QC, will chair the London Drugs Commission. This will evaluate the effectiveness of UK drug laws.
Cannabis is currently classified as a B-class drug. For possession, a maximum of five years prison sentence can be imposed. Khan can only influence the laws, but he cannot change them.
Although advocates claim cannabis can be used to make you happier by making you feel better, there are concerns that people who use it regularly will develop psychotic illnesses. The potential dangers of this policy are revealed by European neighbors’ results. Portugal saw a significant increase in cannabis-induced psychosis following its 2001 decriminalization.
Gorrila RX Wellness, located in Crenshaw’s area, was later visited by Mr Khan. It stocks over 1,900 brand names of cannabis-related products, such as beverages and edibles.
Kika Keith, the owner of the shop said that the UK’s decriminalization of cannabis would be a ‘tremendously helpful’ for London’s Black community.
A trip to a coffee shop for the jet-lagged mayor with former New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg was also turned into a photo op
Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor speaks at the launch of the “Let’s Do London” U.S. tourist campaign in Times Square
Mayor Khan was perhaps not aware of the identity of those he was walking through Manhattan together with New Yorkers during his initial day on his trip.