On July 13, five men were attacked with acid in north and east London, with a 16-year-old boy charged in connection with the attacks. In response to the incident, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Sunday that those found guilty "should feel the full force of the law."
"The Metropolitan Police take these attacks extremely seriously and are doing everything in their power to tackle them. However, we need a new zero-tolerance approach as a country if we are to rid the streets of this scourge," Khan said as quoted in the press release.
Namely, the London mayor called for a comprehensive program to combat these "barbaric crimes," including tougher sentences for those carrying acid, clarification of sentencing guidelines for judges to ensure that those guilty of acid attacks get the punishment they deserve as well as a "clampdown" on the sale of corrosive substances, according to the press release.
The comment comes ahead of the UK lawmakers' debate on the issue in the Commons later in the day.
According to the UK government, the statistics, released by the Metropolitan Police Service in response to Freedom of Information requests, indicate that corrosive fluids were used in London in 454 crimes in 2016, 261 in 2015 and 166 in 2014.
