Susan Hall To Face No Action After Sharing AI Image Of Sadiq Khan Drowning
Susan Hall was defeated by Sadiq Khan in last year's mayoral election (PA Images / Alamy)
4 min read
Susan Hall, leader of the Conservatives in City Hall, will face no disciplinary action after sharing an AI-generated image of Sadiq Khan drowning, PoliticsHome has learned.
The image, which shows the Labour mayor of London apparently struggling to stay afloat in water, was originally posted by another account on X (formerly Twitter), who captioned it: “What would you throw to save Khan?”
Hall, who ran as the Tory candidate for London mayor last year, quoted the post with her answer: “A ULEZ camera….” After another X user responded “Send two!”, Hall replied with a laughing emoji. The post remains active on Hall’s X account and has received almost 120,000 views.
Shortly after sharing the post in April, Hall told the BBC she was simply “responding to a joke on X – which is something I often do”, adding: “It was meant as a lighthearted joke, as many of my tweets are, and certainly not intended to be taken seriously.”
The post sparked outrage in London Labour. Danny Beales, the party’s MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, called it “disgusting and totally unacceptable behaviour”.
In an official complaint to City Hall’s monitoring officer, Labour assembly member Leonie Cooper alleged that Hall had breached the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) code of conduct.
The code requires elected members to “treat others with respect” and “not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute”.
But PoliticsHome can reveal that, following an initial assessment, the monitoring officer has concluded the code was not breached and no formal investigation is required.
“The monitoring officer has looked into the complaint and no further action has been taken,” a GLA spokesman said.
Responding to the decision, Cooper told PoliticsHome: “The AI-generated image shared by Susan Hall was dehumanising and inappropriate, undermining the standards we expect in political debate.
“The Conservative Party now needs to clarify if it condones this type of activity. Londoners will make up their own minds about whether those who post imagery of violence against political opponents reflect the democratic and open values of our city.”
Cooper added that, while she found it “disappointing” that no further action will be taken, “I respect the decision the independent monitoring officer has made”.
Hall has also been rebuked by the Jo Cox Foundation, a charity formed after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 that campaigns for politicians to be treated with respect.
“We all have a responsibility for changing the perception that elected representatives are acceptable targets of abuse and intimidation,” a spokesman for the charity told PoliticsHome.
“Change must begin with how politicians speak to each other, setting an example with the language they use and the behaviour they demonstrate both online and offline. While passionate debate is a key component of our political life; abuse and personal attacks are not.”
Hall came second to Khan in the 2024 London mayoral race, and some Conservatives blamed her "negative" campaigning as a key reason for their defeat.
After serving as leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly from 2019 to 2023, Hall returned to the post earlier this year. Politico reported in July that she has also been appointed as an “adviser” to the Rupert Lowe-led “Restore Britain” group.
Khan has faced repeated threats to his life throughout his mayoralty and requires constant police protection as a result. In the updated edition of his book Breathe, he revealed that in the run-up to last year's mayoral election, he received a bullet in the post.
Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) has not publicly acknowledged or commented on the image shared by Hall. Asked whether they had carried out any investigation of their own, the national party did not respond.
A spokesman for the Conservative group on the London Assembly said of the GLA monitoring officer’s probe: “The investigation concluded that there has not been a breach of the code of conduct and no further action will be taken on this matter.”
