Sadiq Khan received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace today despite a backlash at ‘reward for failure’.

The London Mayor was given the honour by the King at Buckingham Palace, saying the monarch was ‘chuffed’ to bestow it. 

However, the Tories have condemned the award claiming that Sir Sadiq has not managed to get a grip on violent crime in the capital. 

Sir Sadiq has been Mayor since 2016, becoming the first person to win a third term in the role.

Before that he was Labour MP for Tooting, serving as a junior minister under Gordon Brown’s premiership.  

The knighthood for political and public service was announced in the New Year Honours, but was only formally bestowed by the King today. 

Afterwards, Sir Sadiq posted on Facebook: ‘The London promise: if you work hard, and get a helping hand, you can achieve anything.

‘Immensely proud to receive a knighthood from His Majesty The King today. Growing up on a council estate in Tooting, I never could have imagined that I’d one day receive this great honour while serving as the Mayor of London.

‘It’s a truly humbling moment for myself and my family, and one that I hope inspires others to believe in the incredible opportunities that our great capital offers.

‘I’ll forever be honoured to serve the city that I love – and will continue to do all I can to build a fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.’

Sir Sadiq said he joked with the King about who was a bigger workaholic and the monarch ‘was very chuffed that he managed to personally give me this honour’. 

He said: ‘I have got the pleasure of working closely with the King.

‘We were just comparing who’s a bigger workaholic.

‘He was very chuffed that he managed to personally give me this honour and he actually apologised for it taking so long – which is not a problem at all.’

Shadow home secretary and Croydon MP Chris Philp said: ‘Two days ago, volunteers had to take matters into their own hands and clean graffiti off tube carriages because Sadiq Khan was failing to act.

‘Today the Mayor received his knighthood. This is a slap in the face to Londoners who have faced a council tax hike of over 70 per cent, a surge in knife crime and an increase in red tape stifling bars and restaurants on his watch.

‘At the same time, the Mayor seems more interested in trying to decriminalise cannabis than making London a better place to live.

‘Sadiq Khan’s knighthood is a reward for failure’

Labour’s Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005, received her damehood at the Buckingham Palace ceremony for political and public service. 

She said she does not usually get nervous but was ‘fizzy with nerves’ after receiving the honour.

Dame Emily, who was honoured for political and public service, wore brooches belonging to her mother and grandmother in her hat at the ceremony.

‘My grandmother used to work for Lloyds Bank and she wasn’t allowed to work after she got married. If she knew that I’d become a dame, she wouldn’t believe it,’ the former shadow foreign secretary said.

‘Neither would my mum.’

The chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, 64, has previously served on Labour’s front bench in numerous roles including as shadow attorney general and shadow foreign secretary.

However, she was surprisingly snubbed for a role by Keir Starmer when he entered No10 last summer.

The PM instead opted to install his old ally Lord Hermer as the government’s top legal officer. 

Dame Emily has since become the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.