But his team dismiss it as 'nasty dog-whistle attack from desperate Tories

Zac Goldsmith (pictured right on a visit to a Sikh temple in Southall, West London today), used the Conservative party's spring forum yesterday to launch a fresh attack on Sadiq Khan (pictured left)

Senior Tory ministers launched a fresh attack on Labour's candidate for London Mayor yesterday, with Home Secretary Theresa May declaring him unsafe to run London because of his history of defending extremists in his previous job as a human rights lawyer.

Ms May said Sadiq Khan's defence of extremists such as Babar Ahmad put him in a poor position to protect Londoners 'at a time when we face a significant threat of terrorism'.

Mr Ahmad pleaded guilty to conspiracy and providing material support to terrorism in 2013, while Tories also attacked Mr Khan for comments he made in 2004 when he suggested some elements of sharia law should be incorporated into British courts.

Mr Khan has repeatedly defended the links to extremists, insisting his job as a human rights lawyer meant he had to 'speak on behalf of some unsavoury individuals'.

The Tories turned up the heat on Labour's mayoral candidate after polls showed their candidate Zac Goldsmith continued to fall behind him in the polls.

Speaking at the Conservative party's spring forum in central London yesterday, outgoing mayor Mr Johnson said: 'Sadiq Khan has shared platforms - to put it at its mildest - with some pretty dodgy people with some pretty repellent views.'

And Mr Goldsmith told Tory activists that Londoners must not be governed by a mayor who 'opposed top and search [and] whose party leader thinks shooting terrorists is a bad idea'.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove told the Conservative's spring forum: 'There can be absolutely no place for sharia law in our justice system.

'Sharia law demeans women and treats them as second-class citizens. These views are incompatible with being mayor of London.'

But it was the attack from the Home Secretary that marks the most significant intervention so far in the Tory attacks on Mr Khan's past.

Theresa May (pictured left at the Tory spring forum yesterday) said Sadiq Khan's defence of extremists such as Babar Ahmad put him in a poor position to protect Londoners 'at a time when we face a significant threat of terrorism'

Senior Tories lined up to launch a fresh attack on Sadiq Khan's previous links to extremists, including Mayor of London Boris Johnson (left), Justice Secretary Michael Gove (centre) and the Conservative party's mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith (right)

'I worry when I see Sadiq Khan in contortions over whether Babar Ahmad - a man subsequently convicted of conspiracy and providing material to support terrorism - was a friend of his or not; when I see that he has shared a platform with a group backed by an extremist imam; when I see that he defended someone threatening 'fire throughout the world' as simply using 'flowery' language.

'This is not the judgment London needs in a mayor at a time when we face a significant threat from terrorism.'

JEREMY CORBYN INSISTS LABOUR IS 'ABSOLUTELY RESOLUTE' ON TACKLING ANTI-SEMITISM Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured on the Andrew Marr show this morning) said Labour is 'absolutely resolute' on tackling 'abhorrent' anti-Semitism after a series of scandals Labour is 'absolutely resolute' on tackling 'abhorrent' anti-Semitism, leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted as the party was hit by a fresh allegation about one if its councillors. The Labour leader said there is 'no place for any racism of any sort' within the party and said swift action is taken in any cases which come to light. He was speaking after councillor Aysegul Gurbuz was suspended by the party over messages posted on her Twitter account claiming that Hitler was the 'greatest man in history' and suggesting that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon to 'wipe Israel off the map'. Mr Corbyn told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: 'Anti-Semitism is absolutely abhorrent and wrong. Anyone that commits any act of anti-Semitism, that makes anti-Semitic remarks, is auto excluded from the party and an inquiry follows immediately. 'We have suspended, we will suspend, any member that behaves in that way.' The allegations over Ms Gurbuz follow a series of incidents involving anti-Semitic comments by Labour activists, including one who was suspended after posting tweets referring to Jews with 'big noses' and describing Hitler as a 'Zionist God'. The chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club recently resigned, saying a 'large proportion' of its members had 'some kind of problem with Jews'. Mr Corbyn added: 'We are absolutely resolute on this. There is no place for any type of racism of any sort within our party and I will ensure that it is rooted out where it exists. 'But I have to say, it is a very small number of cases over the whole country and we are dealing with it.' Luton councillor Ms Gurbuz suggested her sister may have posted the now-deleted comments on her Twitter account. The Mail on Sunday reported that she told the Campaign Against Antisemitism: 'It was a joint account I had with my sister so I don't know if she's gone out and tweeted that, but I'm absolutely appalled right now.' 'Where I live we've got very good cohesion with the Jewish community... I'm absolutely shocked.' A Labour Party spokeswoman said: 'Councillor Gurbuz has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.' Advertisement

Mr Goldsmith told the event: 'London cannot afford a Labour mayor who opposed stop and search, whose party leader thinks shooting terrorists is a bad idea, a mayor whose career before becoming an MP involved coaching people in suing our police.

'On this issue above all others there can be no ambiguity - no looking both ways.'

In 2004 Mr Khan said: 'There are some... uncontroversial areas of Islamic law which could easily be applied to the legal system... in the UK.'

A spokesman for the Labour mayoral candidate insisted he was always opposed to sharia law but did not clarify what he meant by 'uncontroversial'.

Mr Khan's spokesman said: 'Sadiq has repeatedly said there is no place for sharia law in the UK — to suggest otherwise is a lie,' he said.

'This nasty dog-whistle attack from the Tories is just their latest desperate attempt to divide Londoners.'

Last week Mr Khan admitted he wears a 'badge of shame' because of the problems the Labour Party has with anti-Semitism.

The London Mayor candidate said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn 'could have taken a tougher stance and needs to take a tougher stance'.

The party has been dragged into a series of rows about anti-Semitic members which some MPs have warned are not being kicked out of the party swiftly enough.

Jewish Labour MPs have also claimed they have come under attack from anti-Semitic individuals online.

But this morning Mr Corbyn fought back against allegations he has failed to do enough to clamp down on anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

He said Labour is 'absolutely resolute' on tackling 'abhorrent' anti-Semitism and said there is 'no place for any racism of any sort' within the party and said swift action is taken in any cases which come to light.

He was speaking after councillor Aysegul Gurbuz was suspended by the party over messages posted on her Twitter account claiming that Hitler was the 'greatest man in history' and suggesting that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon to 'wipe Israel off the map'.

Mr Corbyn told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: 'Anti-Semitism is absolutely abhorrent and wrong. Anyone that commits any act of anti-Semitism, that makes anti-Semitic remarks, is auto excluded from the party and an inquiry follows immediately.

'We have suspended, we will suspend, any member that behaves in that way.'

The allegations over Ms Gurbuz follow a series of incidents involving anti-Semitic comments by Labour activists, including one who was suspended after posting tweets referring to Jews with 'big noses' and describing Hitler as a 'Zionist God'.

The chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club recently resigned, saying a 'large proportion' of its members had 'some kind of problem with Jews'.

Mr Corbyn added: 'We are absolutely resolute on this. There is no place for any type of racism of any sort within our party and I will ensure that it is rooted out where it exists.

'But I have to say, it is a very small number of cases over the whole country and we are dealing with it.'

Luton councillor Ms Gurbuz suggested her sister may have posted the now-deleted comments on her Twitter account.

The Mail on Sunday reported that she told the Campaign Against Antisemitism: 'It was a joint account I had with my sister so I don't know if she's gone out and tweeted that, but I'm absolutely appalled right now.'

'Where I live we've got very good cohesion with the Jewish community... I'm absolutely shocked.'

A Labour Party spokeswoman said: 'Councillor Gurbuz has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.'

Tory candidate zac Goldsmith, pictured on a visit to a Sikh temple in West London today along with Labour candidate Sadiq Khan (below left) said Londoners must not be governed by a mayor who 'opposed top and search [and] whose party leader thinks shooting terrorists is a bad idea'

Last week Mr Khan, a Muslim, said he knew what it was like to suffer 'hate crime' and added: 'I also know it's unacceptable in 2016 that there is anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

'It's with sorrow that I wear that badge of shame.'

Mr Khan added: 'If it means members of my party, senior members of my party including members of [Labour's ruling National Executive Committee] being trained about what anti-Semitism is, then so be it.'

Speaking at a hustings organised by the London Jewish Forum, Mr Khan said: 'I have said at the outset, I'm embarrassed and sorrowful about anti-Semitism in the party.