Sadiq Khan used to cross road to avoid being near police

Sadiq Khan has revealed that he believed ‘all police were bad’ when he was growing up in London – and used to cross the street when he saw officers approaching.

The Mayor of London said he wanted to avoid ‘jip’ from officers in his youth as he raised concerns that the city’s progress is being hampered by a loss of faith in public institutions.

Announcing a new ‘Trust and Confidence Commission’ to look at how to restore trust in major institutions like the emergency services and local authorities, Mr Khan claimed many communities in the capital are becoming more wary of certain organisations – hampering their life chances.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, he explained: ‘My worry is too many Londoners haven’t got the trust and confidence in our institutions to fulfill their potential.

‘The public institutions that look after, protect and support us should always deliver the same level of service, regardless of someone’s religion, background, gender or skin colour.’

He cited concerns with the fire brigade in the wake of the Grenfell disaster; the home office around EU citizens registering after Brexit; the education system among white working class families; the Metropolitan Police’s treatment of the black community and local authorities’ interactions with the traveller community.

The review, which aims to make sure institutions are ‘fit for purpose’ and not discriminating against communities, would also look at his own organisation, City Hall.

If he is re-elected on May 7, the Mayor would launch the independent review to find out why communities do not trust certain bodies – and how to restore confidence.

Highlighting his own negative experiences with police, he explained: ‘When I was growing up, if I was walking on one side of the road and I saw the police coming along I would cross over because I didn’t want the hassle of being stopped and searched, emptying out my pockets (and) the jip you get with police.

‘I wouldn’t see them as an ally, I’d see them as the other.’

The former Labour MP for Tooting, who became Mayor in 2016, grew up in a Muslim family in the South London district.

He added: ‘I pre-judged the police – I assumed all the police were gonna’ be bad and give me a hard time.’

However, he added that he had seen ‘the good and the bad’ after having great experiences with his teachers and a boxing club.

Mr Khan is hoping to present the election as a two-horse race between himself and the Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey, but also faces competition from Green Party leader Sian Berry, independent Rory Stewart, Liberal Democrat Siobhan Benita and a number of less well-known candidates.

He is widely seen as the clear favourite in the race, but has come under pressure over soaring knife crime, the cost of living and air pollution.

His rivals have been setting out some of their priorities in a series of exclusive interviews with Metro.co.uk. Both Mr Bailey and Mr Stewart have said they would prioritise safety on the capital’s streets if they are elected, while Ms Berry backs an ‘immediate’ rent freeze and Ms Benita is aiming to bring the Women’s World Cup to the capital and legalise weed.

Mr Khan said he could be open to endorsing another candidate for second preference votes, having backed the Women’s Equality Party four years ago.

Like Ms Berry, he also wants a rent cap but is conscious that he needs powers from government to implement his policy, which the Green Party leader suggests would be a ‘mild’ version of her plan.

The review into institutions also depends on co-operation from other public bodies, with Mr Khan admitting that he would need to ‘work with’ organisations to make changes once evidence has been gathered.

But, he said progress was already being made with bodies like the Met, as he highlighted high recruitment of BAME officers, use of body cameras, complaints going down against officers as evidence – despite stop and search increasing.

He also recalled how he recently met a school friend who was ‘brighter than me’ but ended up in jail and labelled it a ‘wake up call’ for what might have been had he not had the support of his boxing club – and a reminder of what can happen when people lack faith in public bodies.

Mr Khan, a long-time critic of Jeremy Corbyn, also said he has not made up his mind about who to vote for in the Labour leadership election – but said it was ‘unlikely’ to be Rebecca Long-Bailey, adding that Mr Corbyn should have stepped down by now, if it wasn’t for the deputy leader being up for election too.

He also branded former mayor Boris Johnson’s Conservative administration ‘the most anti-London government in my lifetime’ and raised concerns that his own party was also in danger of prioritising other parts of the country.

The areas that the commission would look into are: City Hall, the London Fire Brigade, the Met Police, Transport for London, the capital’s education system, the NHS, the wider criminal justice system and local government.

A ‘senior figure’ is yet to be chosen to lead the review.