The Mayor of London has announced that City Hall has adopted the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims (APPG) definition of Islamophobia.

The Mayor now urged Government Ministers to show their commitment to tackling hate crime and the spread of far-right messaging by also signing up to the wording.

City Hall will become the largest public authority to adopt the APPG definition as part of Sadiq’s efforts to tackle Islamophobia. The APPG is investigating prejudice and discrimination against British Muslims and the aim of their definition is to build a common understanding of the causes and consequences of Islamophobia and show a united determination to end it.

The definition is: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”. There are also a range of other illustrative examples.

Sadiq told mosque leaders that it is vital that the government followed his lead in adopting the definition as he reassured leaders that the Met has been doing everything possible to keep worshippers safe by providing reassurance through increased patrols, engagement and security advice.

As well as the need to put greater security measures in place urgently, the Mayor told Mosque leaders that we must expose those in positions of power who continue to peddle messages of hate and division and put more pressure on governments, tech companies and other platforms to do more to stop violent extremism and hatred from being promoted.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Islamophobia has no place in our society. It is a vile stain on our collective conscious and it is essential that we all do everything we can to stand together against those who seek to divide our communities.

“By signing up to the APPG definition of Islamophobia we are sending a powerful message of our united determination to end Islamophobia and the spread of far-right rhetoric. We are proud of the great diversity of our country and I urge the government and other public bodies to join us in making this clear commitment.

“The evil terror attacks in Christchurch last week were attacks on the values that unite us. They sadly showed us all that there is still so much to do to stamp out hatred. We must all stand together and show the world that we will not tolerate anyone seeking to divide our communities and bring us harm.”