Sadiq Khan

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Sadiq Khan MP
Sadiq Khan
Member of Parliament
for Tooting
In office
5 May 2005 – present
Preceded by Tom Cox
Majority 5,381 (12.9%)[1]
Born October 8, 1970 (1970-10-08) (age 37)
Tooting, London, United Kingdom
Political party Labour
Religion Sunni Muslim

Sadiq Aman Khan (born October 8, 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 (PPS) to Rt Hon. Jack Straw MP and was a member of the Public Accounts Committee. He is currently a government whip with responsibilities for the justice department.

Contents

[edit] 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 F.C. and Surrey County Cricket Club.

[edit] Councillor

Khan had been a Councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth since 1994.

[edit] 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 Mr 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.

Khan remained a councillor until the May 2006 council elections. He is also a governor of Fircroft School, which his daughters now attend, and of Gatton School.

Khan was awarded 'Newcomer of the Year' by the Spectator Magazine Parliamentarian of the Year awards 2005.

In parliament he occasionally rebels against the government but voted very strongly for introducing national ID cards, strongly for labours anti-terrorism laws and very strongly against investigating the Iraq war [1].

In August 2006, he was a signatory of an open letter to Tony Blair criticising the UK's foreign policy. [2]

On 3 February 2008, The Sunday Times[2] 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.[3] An inquiry has been launched by Justice Secretary, The Rt Hon. Jack Straw MP.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC Election 2005
  2. ^ Michael Gillard and Jonathan Calvert. Police bugged Muslim MP Sadiq Khan. The Sundary Times. February 3, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Khan welcomes 'bugging' inquiry

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Tom Cox		 Member of Parliament for Tooting
2005 – present		 Incumbent
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