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Sadiq Khan takes a swipe at George Osborne at GQ awards

To GQ‘s Men of the Year awards at the Tate Modern. With Russell Brand not around to make Nazi jokes at the expense of a sponsor this year, Amy Schumer did her best to unsettle the champagne-fuelled crowd. Accepting the ‘woman of the year’ gong, the American comedian said she was relieved an awards ceremony ‘finally celebrated men’.

However it was Sadiq Khan’s ‘politician of the year’ gong that caught Mr S’s attention. Accepting the award, the Mayor of London made sure to mention his predecessor George Osborne — who triumphed in the category just last year. Given that the former Chancellor of the Exchequer has since returned to the backbench, Khan said that he was nervous Osborne’s bad luck would now catch up with him:

‘Thank you for your generous words. I’m both excited and nervous to be at this stage tonight.

Excited to win GQ’s politician of the year award. Nervous because the person who won it last was a person called George Osborne.

Is he here tonight? No? I rest my case.’

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Khan went on to say that his victory in the polls showed that ‘it’s possible to be the mayor of London and be 5’6″‘. Still despite the new mayor’s achievements, Mr S suspects he is right to be worried about a possible curse. Just as Khan accepted his gong, news broke that the nightclub Fabric had lost its license — with angry Londoners on Twitter quick to take the mayor to task over the outcome.

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Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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