Donald Trump has claimed he blocked Sadiq Khan from attending the Windsor Castle state banquet.
The US president took a dig at the London mayor as he left the UK after his controversial state visit.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, Trump said he ‘didn’t want [Khan] there’.
But Sir Sadiq hit back, saying that a ‘record number of Americans’ are leaving the US and moving to London after Trump accused him of being one of the ‘worst mayors in the world.’
Metro understands that Sir Sadiq had no intention of attending the event and that City Hall ‘didn’t expect or seek’ an invitation.
A source close to Sir Sadiq told Metro: ‘Trump’s politics is one of fear and division. This includes talking down our great capital city.
‘London is a global success story. It’s open, dynamic and safer than major US cities.
‘Perhaps that’s one of the reasons record numbers of Americans are choosing to make London their home.’
All of this comes after Trump’s withering appraisal of Sir Sadiq’s time in office.
The president said: ‘I think the Mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst mayors in the world, and we have some bad ones.
‘I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof.
‘I asked that he not be [at the banquet]. He wanted to be there, as I understand, I didn’t want him. I’ve not liked him for a long time.’
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Despite being a Privy counsellor, having served as a Government minister in his time as an MP, Sir Sadiq is not normally invited to State banquets in his role as London mayor.
However, he did attend the white tie dinner at Mansion House last December to mark the State visit of the Emir of Qatar.
It’s not the first time the pair has traded words.
In 2015, Sir Sadiq criticised Trump after he said Muslims should be banned from travelling to the US.
Sir Sadiq, who was a mayoral candidate at the time, said ahead of the 2016 US presidential race that he hopes ‘Trump loses, badly.’
Trump commented on the mayor shortly after his helicopter, Marine One, made an emergency landing at an airfield.
Marine One, which was carrying POTUS and Melania, experienced a hydraulic issue before reaching Stansted Airport, the White House said.
Trump made a joke about the safety scare after boarding the US president’s official jet: ‘Fly safely. You know why I say that? Because I’m on the flight.
‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t care.’
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