Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, became London's first Muslim mayor on Friday, seeing off a Conservative challenger who attempted to link him to extremism and securing a much-needed victory for his opposition Labour Party.
Sadiq had yet to receive official notification of his victory, which would go some way to soothing the wounds of Labour which suffered losses in Thursday's other local elections.
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn hailed Khan's win over Conservative Zac Goldsmith, after a bitter campaign in which Prime Minister David Cameron sought to link Khan to Islamic extremists.
"Congratulations Sadiq Khan. Can't wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all!" Corbyn wrote on Twitter ahead of the publication of final results.
The Mayor said that that fear doesn't make us safer, it only makes us weaker, and the politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city.
While Sadiq was addressing, the candidate for the far-right Britain First party, Paul Golding, who was lined up with the other loosing candidates behind Khan, turned his back.
Other mayors including Anne Hidalgo in Paris and Bill de Blasio in New York quickly congratulated Khan.
