Sadiq Khan has been slapped down after backing Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a major rewrite of the Brexit deal.
The London Mayor said the Labour leader was “absolutely right” to seek changes to the trade agreement with the EU, which he branded “extreme and hard”.
But Tory London mayoral candidate Susan Hall hit out at Mr Khan for wading into the debate.
Ms Hall told the Express: “You know Sadiq Khan is in trouble when he starts banging on about Brexit. His record over the last seven and a half years is so poor, he is desperate to talk about anything else.
“What Londoners want is a Mayor who gets on with fixing the bread-and-butter issues that matter to them, making our streets safer and putting more money back in people’s pockets. As Mayor, that’s what I will deliver.”
Sir Keir earlier this week said he would push for a “much better” deal than the current one which is “far too this”.
But the Labour leader, who campaigned for Remain and a second referendum, insisted he would not drag the UK back into the single market or customs union.
His comments prompted Conservatives to warn he cannot be trusted on Brexit.
Mr Khan today welcomed Sir Keir’s plan to rewrite the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which is up for review in 2025.
The Labour politician told Times Radio: “We’ve got a deal with the EU as a country, negotiated by Boris Johnson that, in my view, is extreme and hard.
“I speak to businesses very regularly and they complain about the challenges this deal has.
“This deal is up for review in 2025, and I think it’s right and proper that we get a better deal. It should be done sector by sector because, you know, for example, environmental issues are different from financial issues and so forth.
“And I think, you know, Keir is absolutely right to say the current deal is not great. Let’s get a better deal.”
Mr Khan, a staunch Remainer, also defended Sir Keir against accusations he wants to rejoin the EU.
He said: “That is the real Keir, he’s told me that privately and publicly, that’s where he is, that’s where the Labour party is, the policy of the national Labour party is not about rejoining the single market.”
The Labour leader came under fire yesterday after it emerged he told a left-wing conference in Montreal, Canada, last weekend that he did not want the UK to diverge from the bloc’s rules.