Zac Goldsmith's mother says her son is 'the least racist person I know'
'How can Zac be racist when he has two beloved nephews he adores, Jemima’s boys?'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Zac Goldsmith’s mother has jumped to her son’s defence claiming he is “the least racist person” she knows, as he faces a volley of criticism over his controversial London mayoral campaign.
Mr Goldsmith was overwhelmingly defeated by Labour's candidate, Sadiq Kahn, following a bitter campaign which saw his team attempt to link Mr Khan to Islamic extremists.
Among prominent figures to attack the campaign, Sayeeda Warsi, a former Conservative cabinet minister, said the “appalling dog whistle racism” had lost the party “the election, our reputation and credibility on issues of race and religion”.
But his mother, Lady Annabel, said to the Mail on Sunday: “Zac is the least racist person I know”.
She added: “I’m very sad for him... with a family man like Zac, who’s mad about his children and likes to be with them the whole time, I think being mayor would have been a difficult juggle for him, but he would have made a very good one.
“I think all these things that have been said about him are very unfair.”
“How can Zac be racist when he has two beloved nephews he adores, Jemima’s boys?”
Shortly after the mayoral results were announced on Friday, Jemima Goldsmith, tweeted that her brother was an “eco-friendly, independent-minded politician with integrity” and his campaign did not reflect this. Ms Goldsmith praised Mr Khan as a “great example for young Muslims”.
In an extraordinary interview on the BBC’s Newsnight, Andrew Boff, Conservative leader in the London Assembly, said the campaign's “outrageous” tactics had “blown up” bridges built with London's Muslim communities on Thursday after the polls had closed.
He said: “I mentioned that I thought this was a mistake for future integration in London. If you are a London politician this is just a bizarre thing to do.
“It was effectively saying that people of conservative religious views are not to be trusted and you shouldn't share a platform with them. That's outrageous.”
Mr Goldsmith’s brother, Ben, added: “I am proud of my brother. He is the most decent, thoughtful, visionary man I know. It is because of his influence that I have grown up an environmentalist.
“Of course I’m sad he did not win this election. But fundamentally London is a Labour city.”
“My brother was right to ask entirely legitimate questions of Mr Khan as to his past associations with Islamists. Jeremy Corbyn is having to answer precisely the same questions.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments