Sir Sadiq Khan has heaped on praise for Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after the pair met in Madrid yesterday.
Despite the Mayor of London having no official role in Britain’s foreign policy, the politicians held bilateral talks – with Sir Sadiq citing the more than 100,000 Spaniards living in the capital as the reason.
During the meeting, Mr Sanchez revealed Madrid backed Britain rejoining the EU, according to a City Hall source.
The insider said: “Sadiq has said it before and he’ll say it again – Brexit has done real damage to London and is costing Londoners, day in, day out, economically, socially and culturally.
“Hearing directly from Prime Minister Sanchez that Spain would welcome the UK back into the EU was incredibly powerful.
“Europe needs us and we need Europe,” they added.
The London Mayor posted an image of the two following the talks, saying it was “great” to speak to Mr Sanchez yesterday.
Sir Sadiq added: “At a time when too many leaders are looking the other way, it matters that we stand together.
During the meeting, Mr Sanchez emphasised Madrid’s support for Britain to rejoin the EU, according to a City Hall source
|
CITY HALL
“We discussed Gaza, Europe and the shared values that unite London and Spain.”
The London Mayor signed off the post by hailing the pair’s shared commitment to “progressive, internationalist politics”.
Meanwhile, the Spanish PM wrote on social media after the talks: “Cities are on the front lines of democracy’s defence. Today I shared this reflection with the Mayor of London.
“Affordable housing, social cohesion, and quality public services are much more than a priority.
SADIQ KHAN – READ THE LATEST:
The London Mayor hailed the pair’s shared commitment to ‘progressive, internationalist politics’
|
CITY HALL
“They are the best antidote to curb the far right in Spain and around the world.”
Sir Sadiq also met with Barcelona’s far-left mayor Jaume Collboni in Madrid, where the London Mayor hailed the Catalonian city for its approach to tackling “climate change”, saying it was “one of my ambitions is to learn from Barcelona”.
The Spanish PM has come under fire in his home country in recent weeks after his socialist administration’s large-scale migrant amnesty programme formally commenced.
The plans – pushed through by royal decree – grant legal status to around 500,000 undocumented migrants.
Huge queues were seen snaking around in Barcelona as the amnesty officially started | REUTERS
The scheme is seen as a cornerstone of Mr Sanchez’s agenda – even though his neighbouring European nations battle a Mediterranean migrant crisis.
But Santiago Abascal, leader of the right-wing Vox party, accused the socialist PM of accelerating an “invasion” of Spain.
The bilateral talks between Sir Sadiq and the anti-Brexit Spanish leader come amid Sir Keir Starmer’s pursuit of closer ties with Brussels.
Labour is planning to force through legislation that would enable ministers to sign Britain up to EU single market rules – without the consent of Parliament.