I was delighted to welcome mayor of London Sadiq Khan to Ilford to focus on job creation in my constituency of Ilford South and right across Redbridge.

We visited the former Bombardier (now Alstom) depot to hear about the in-work trainee programmes that benefit so many from our community who work there.

Ilford Recorder: Sadiq Khan on a walkabout with Metropolitan Police officers in Ilford during his mayoral campaignSadiq Khan on a walkabout with Metropolitan Police officers in Ilford during his mayoral campaign (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The pandemic has hit many businesses and workers hard, and worryingly that situation could worsen with the end of the furlough scheme on the horizon, with more than 45,000 people still on furlough and more than 25,000 reliant on self-employment income support across the whole of Ilford.

It is therefore vital that we do all we can to encourage and support businesses to create new jobs and career opportunities, as well as train and skill their existing staff.

This week has also seen distressing and totally unacceptable scenes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque - one of the Holiest sites in the Muslim world - during the holy month of Ramadan, and threatened evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.

Such actions are provocative and dangerous, and have led to people being seriously injured.

Peace can only be achieved through justice, and violence only begets violence. That is why I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and will be urging the UK government to put pressure on Israel to stop its military aggression.