Islington Council leader Kaya Comer-Schwartz will assume the role after Sophie Linden leaves to become a government advisor, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Kaya Comer-Schwartz (credit Islington Council)

Sadiq Khan has revealed his new deputy mayor for policing and crime.

The leader of Islington Council, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, will take on the role.

News of the appointment comes after Sophie Linden, who has held the £141,386 job since 2016, announced her resignation earlier this week.

Comer-Schwartz will assume the role after Linden leaves to become an advisor to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The new deputy’s appointment will, however, be subject to a confirmation hearing by the London Assembly’s police and crime committee.

The job involves leading the work of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which sets the budget and direction of the Metropolitan Police.

The new deputy has served as a Labour councillor since 2013, and became council leader in 2021. Her predecessor as leader, Richard Watts, left in order to become Khan’s deputy chief of staff – a role he still holds.

Comer-Schwartz’s hiring means she is set to become the latest of several Labour councillors to have been selected by Khan for senior roles at City Hall.

Linden, for example, was previously a Hackney councillor, as was Mete Coban, the mayor’s new deputy mayor for the environment and energy – while his planning deputy, Jules Pipe, was mayor of Hackney.

Khan’s transport deputy Seb Dance was a Labour member of the European Parliament prior to Brexit, and his previous deputy in that role was Labour MP Heidi Alexander.

The mayor said: “Nothing is more important to me than keeping Londoners safe.

“Kaya brings extensive experience to the role, working to make Londoners safer and improving trust and confidence in the police, which we know leads to reductions in violence and crime.”

Comer-Schwartz said she was “thrilled” to have been proposed for the job.

“From dealing with the aftermath of the Finsbury Park terror attack to empowering communities and the police to stand together following the far-right riots this summer, I am proud to have championed justice, community cohesion and public safety throughout my career,” she said.

“I am excited about the prospect of bringing my skills, knowledge and experience to the role and driving the urgent reforms needed to the police to deliver a safer and more equal London.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.