London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been knighted in the UK's traditional New Year's Honours, BNR reported.
Sadiq Khan is just one of the key figures from the ruling Labour Party on the list. Sir Sadiq, as he will now be known, said he was "really flattered" by the honour. But critics of the mayor, the son of a bus driver in the capital who secured a record third term last year, have criticised his performance in office and said many Londoners would be "horrified" from the news.
A petition against his title, started by a Conservative councillor, has already gathered more than 200,000 signatures since it was launched on December 5. Sir Sadiq Khan's reign since he became mayor in 2016 has been quite controversial. His announcement of an ultra-low emissions green zone, which led to higher bills for those with more polluting cars, led to protests and vandalism against the cameras and signs used to enforce the new zone. As a result, Labour even suffered a surprise defeat in a London council by-election.
He was also recently accused of not taking knife crime in the capital "seriously" by the current Tory leader, Kemmy Badenoch. In connection with his old feud with Donald Trump, Khan said in November that Trump's return would worry and frighten many Londoners about democracy and women's rights. The media recall that in 2018, Khan allowed an inflatable figure depicting Trump as a baby to fly in Parliament Square during the US president's visit to the UK.