Responding to criticism he is politicizing the issue, Khan told an audience at a youth club in Bermondsey, south London on Monday that 'the numbers don't lie' – and that the correlation between social inequality and violent crime is 'unarguable.'

The sad reality is the violence we’re seeing on our streets today is an appalling side-effect of increasing inequality and alienation caused by years of government austerity and neglect.

It comes after new research undertaken by the mayor’s office shows that three-quarters of violence takes place in London’s 10 most deprived boroughs.

It also reveals that serious youth violence in London started increasing in 2012 – coincidentally the start of former Mayor Boris Johnson’s second term in the post.

It’s not the first time Khan has singled out government cuts for the rise in violent youth crime.

In April 2018, facing a barrage of criticism in the midst of a spike in stabbings across the capital, the London mayor hit back, insisting - 'I’m not going to apologise for calling out the consequences of government cuts.'

Khan now claims £800mn has been 'stripped' from the London Metropolitan Police Service’s budget since 2010, and that has inflicted a 'huge amount of damage' on communities.

He called for vital investment in public services, because 'we can’t expect the police to bring down poverty and inequality.'

London has seen a 71-percent rise in violent incidents between 2012-13 and 2017-18.

Some have accused Khan of not doing enough to counter the rise, with one-third of all knife offences in England and Wales taking place in London, to the Office for National Statistics.

He has been attacked by US President Donald Trump, as well as Conservative MPs.

Author's comment: When you have a Mayor of London who implies that 'high levels of violence and terrorism are part and parcel of living in a big city' then you know you have a problem, and it begins with the political will of those in charge.

High levels of violence and terrorism can be substantially reduced by assessing priorities and by employing police resources in a cost-effective manner. If the political will doesn't exist, then it doesn't matter how much money you throw at it.

In a classic example of 'fiddling while Rome burns', Sadiq Khan has diverted millions of pounds and significant police resources to countering 'online hate crime' - people being mean to one another on social media. 

It should go without saying that this is not a high priority while young people continue to be slaughtered every day on London streets.