| The Right Honourable Sadiq Khan MP |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Adonis |
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| In office 4 October 2008 – 8 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Parmjit Dhanda |
| Succeeded by | Shahid Malik |
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Member of Parliament
for Tooting |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Cox |
| Majority | 5,381 (12.9%)[1] |
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| Born | 8 October 1970 Tooting, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of North London College of Law in Guildford |
| Religion | Sunni Muslim |
Sadiq Aman Khan (born 8 October 1970) is a British Labour politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Tooting in the 2005 general election, succeeding Tom Cox as the Labour MP for the seat.
He had been Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jack Straw and was a member of the Public Accounts Committee. He had been a government whip with responsibilities for the justice department. But following the Cabinet Reshuffle of the 3 October 2008, Khan was promoted to be Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. This was followed by a promotion to Minister of State in the Department for Transport in June 2009 and an appointment to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
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Early life
Khan was born in 1970 in London. He grew up in a council flat on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield, and attended Fircroft and Ernest Bevin Schools, before going to the University of North London to study law. His father used to be a bus driver. He completed the Law Society finals at the College of Law in Guildford and trained as a Human Rights Solicitor. He then set up a firm (Christian Khan) with Louise Christian, a left-winger who stood for the Socialist Alliance in Hornsey and Wood Green in the 2001 general election.
He was a visiting lecturer at the University of North London, and a former governor of South Thames FE College. Khan was Chair of Liberty (NCCL) and has been Vice Chair of Legal Action Group (LAG).
He has been married since 1994 and has two daughters. Khan is also a keen follower of sport and a supporter of both Liverpool FC and Surrey County Cricket Club.
Councillor
Khan had been a Councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth since 1994.
Member of Parliament
In 2003, Tooting Constituency Labour Party decided to open its parliamentary selection to all interested candidates, including the incumbent MP since 1970, Tom Cox. This prompted Cox, in his mid 70s, to announce his retirement rather than risk deselection. In the subsequent selection contest, Khan beat five other local candidates to become Labour's Parliamentary candidate. After his election to Parliament in 2005, Khan remained a councillor until the May 2006 council elections.
Khan was awarded 'Newcomer of the Year' by the Spectator Magazine Parliamentarian of the Year awards 2005 "for the tough-mindedness and clarity with which he has spoken about the very difficult issues of Islamic terror".[2] In August 2006, he was a signatory of an open letter to Tony Blair criticising the UK's foreign policy.[3]
On 3 February 2008, The Sunday Times[4] claimed that a conversation between Khan and prisoner Babar Ahmad (a friend and constituent) at Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes was bugged by the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch.[5] An inquiry was launched by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.[5] There was some concern that the bugging contravened the Wilson Doctrine that police should not bug MPs. The report concluded that the Doctrine did not apply because it was ordered by a police officer and not an MP.[6]
Following Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle of 3 October 2008, Khan was promoted to be a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government which forced the former secretary, Parmjit Dhanda, out. In January 2009, in the House of Commons, Khan criticised the pope for the rehabilitation of Richard Williamson following his remarks about the holocaust a move he described as "highly unsavoury" and of "great concern".[7]
In 2009 he became the first Muslim in British history to attend the cabinet when he was appointed as Minister of State for transport.[8] In what is believed to be a first for an MP, Sadiq Khan had used Twitter to announce his promotion to Transport Minister. [9]
Khan is a governor of Fircroft School, which his daughters now attend, and of Gatton School.
See also
References
- ^ BBC Election 2005
- ^ "Parliamentarian of the Year". Spectator. 2005-11-19. http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/features/14489/part_2/parliamentarian-of-the-year.thtml?SelectedIssueDate=19%20November%202005. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Minister criticises Muslim letter". BBC News. 2006-08-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4787119.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Michael Gillard; Jonathan Calvert (2008-02-03). "Police bugged Muslim MP Sadiq Khan". The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3295393.ece.
- ^ a b Khan welcomes 'bugging' inquiry
- ^ Dodd, Vikram (22 February 2008). "Bugging of MP on prison visit did not break the rules, inquiry finds". http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/22/uksecurity.police?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ Minister criticises Pope for pardoning Holocaust denial bishop - Daily Telegraph
- ^ Harding, Eleanor (6 June 2009). "Tooting MP Sadiq Khan named first Muslim cabinet minister in Gordon Brown's reshuffle". The Wandsworth Guardian. http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/4424355.Sadiq_Khan_named_first_Muslim_cabinet_minister/. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ Minister appointment on Twitter - Daily Telegraph
External links
- Sadiq Khan MP official site
- Sadiq Khan on Twitter
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Sadiq Khan MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Sadiq Khan MP
- The Labour Party's Tooting website
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Cox |
Member of Parliament for Tooting 2005–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Unknown |
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Justice Secretary 2005–2008 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Parmjit Dhanda |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Shahid Malik |
| Preceded by The Lord Adonis |
Minister of State for Transport 2009–present |
Incumbent |
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