Racist and Islamophobic online abuse against Mayor of London Sadiq Khan more than doubled last year, most of it coming from the UK, India and the US.
Posts containing mentions of Mr Khan alongside Islamophobic keywords were analysed by the Greater London Authority, rising to 27,830 in 2024. This is more than double the number of posts obtained in the previous year, which had risen to 12,173.
The slurs refer to Mr Khan's Pakistani and Muslim heritage, inaccurately claiming he has turned the British capital into a Muslim majority city, and associating immigration with the rise in crime.
Already, 2025 is on track to be another notable year for online racial abuse of Mr Khan – who was re-elected Mayor for a third term last year – with over 2,100 posts recorded already.
The peak was in 2019, when over 41,867 abusive posts were identified. The highest number of abusive posts that year came from India – around 12,000 compared to 5,000 from the UK – which the GLA linked to a protest over Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir outside the Indian embassy.
Almost 90% of the posts analysed were published on Elon Musk's social media platform X, though the analysts could not see the posts on private Facebook Groups or on platforms such as TikTok. “The true picture is likely to be worse,” a statement from the GLA said.
Almost half of the racist mentions of Sadiq Khan since 2015 came from the UK (44 per cent) followed by India (25 per cent) and the US (23 per cent).
It comes as anti-Muslim hate crimes in the UK in 2024 hit a record high, and the country's most widely used reporting service Tell MAMA faces closure after its government funding was cut unexpectedly.
Mr Khan has been a prominent voice against online abuse, and has criticised Mr Musk, whom he blames for aggravating the problem after he re-instated the accounts of far-right agitators such as Tommy Robinson.
In the wake of the far-right riots in August last year, stoked by fake news about the Southport killer being an immigrant of Muslim heritage, Mr Khan called for stricter laws policing online activity, describing the UK government's Online Safety Act as “not fit for purpose”.
Influential figures have blamed Sadiq Khan for the rise in immigration and crime in the capital, as well as his expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to London's outer boroughs. Donald Trump has described Mr Khan as a “national disgrace” in 2017, among other statements.
Reform donor Charlie Mullins said the Labour Party had threatened to strip him of his OBE over his comments made about Mr Khan. The billionaire founder of a British plumbing company, and a former Conservative donor, was heavily criticised by the honours forfeiture committee for “bringing the honours system into disrepute”.
In 2023, Mr Mullins was suspended from X over his comments that “someone should kill” Mr Khan in a discussion about the ULEZ expansion.
Mr Khan's ULEZ expansion plan was the target of an online manipulation campaign which cost at least £168,000, and leveraged over 4,100 X accounts, according to an investigation by Valent Projects a UK-based tech company that seeks to uncover and track online disinformation.
Valent's founder Amil Khan said the Mayor had become a target of “racist for hire” online actors. "This is a new and growing phenomenon where individuals seek to generate and then monetise bigotry, misogyny etc, either by converting clicks into revenue from the platform or encourage followers to tip them via a link," he told The National.
Officials around the Mayor said the effect goes wider than just London’s leader. “The Mayor is extremely concerned about the impact of hateful and abusive content online,” one said. “This kind of content can have devastating real-life consequences, and it’s a problem which is getting worse not better.
“The Mayor is concerned that his treatment is discouraging young minority Brits from getting involved in politics or public life, meaning we're losing a lot of talent. It could be having a chilling effect on ethnic minorities putting their head above the parapet.
“The Mayor is calling for both more action from social media companies to protect their users and stronger regulation from governments to ensure they fulfil their responsibilities.”
Mr Khan faces a “head of state level” of security threat and has described his round-the-clock security details as comparable to that laid on for the monarch.
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
