Sir Sadiq Khan has taken a swipe at Robert Jenrick, branding the Tory MP “Mr Ozempic” after a video he shared confronting fare dodgers on the Tube went viral online.
The Mayor of London accused the shadow justice secretary being part of a government that cut policing budget and then criticising the consequences.
Mr Jenrick filmed himself approaching three men who had brazenly forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station.
He claimed he saw eight police officers ignoring the problem and ticket barriers left open, while one man he confronted appeared to tell the MP he was carrying a knife.
Sir Sadiq told Times Radio on Monday: “What I find ironic, and it's an example of the chutzpah of Mr Ozempic, is that he was in government when the government cut more than a billion pounds from their police budget.
“He was in government when the government removed Transport for London's operating grant, and now he's criticising the consequences of the cuts in policing and TfL made by his government.
“Where was he in 2010, 2024 when those cuts were being made in our policing? Where was he in 2015 when the government cut their operating grant to TfL?”
Mr Jenrick has admitted to using weight loss jabs to slim down ahead of the Tory leadership contest last year, when he lost out to Kemi Badenoch.
The Newark MP said he used Ozempic for around six weeks in 2023 but "didn't particularly enjoy it".
Sir Sadiq was accused of making a Donald Trump-style personal attack on his political rival over the medication comment.
But the Mayor replied: “You asked me a question, I gave you an answer.”
Court documents show that London fare dodgers prosecuted last week were ordered to shell out around £345,000.
Last month more than 3,000 people were convicted in cases brought by TfL.
However, Sir Sadiq admitted fare evasion “is an issue”.
He added: “It's an issue for London, has been for some time and that's one of the reasons why we've invested hugely in terms of not just enforcement officers, not just in terms of body-worn videos, not just in terms of CCTV, but invested in the police as well.”
