Tory candidate Susan Hall has claimed incumbent Sadiq Khan “can’t stand women” in a strongly-worded attack days before London goes to the polls.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Hall said she had been underestimated due to “sexism and snobbiness”.
She accused Mayor Khan of failing to deliver during his two terms in City Hall, saying: “He keeps re-announcing things — it’s all smoke and mirrors and virtue-signalling.”
Ms Hall added: “The arrogance of him! Hopefully people will see that. And he can’t stand women. It’s not just me, he talks over us all. So rude!”
The London Assembly member claimed Mr Khan ignores her in the lifts of City Hall.
She said: “I’ve tried to talk to him. ‘I’ll say ‘hello’ because that’s good manners. But he’s always surrounded by security staff and just looks away.”
But Mr Khan’s campaign hit back that Ms Hall was “a hard-right Tory candidate, who has herself said she is not a feminist and who has suggested police misconduct against women should be dealt with behind closed doors.”
A spokesperson said: “The Tory government has imposed £1bn cuts on the Met with a devastating impact on the services that keep women safe."
“By contrast, Sadiq is a vocal feminist who has invested a record £163m on tacking violence against women and girls in London."
It comes days after Ms Hall accused Mr Khan of making an “outrageous” remark about her live on air, after he called her “the most dangerous candidate I’ve fought against”.
The Labour mayor made the comment in an LBC radio debate, after being asked by host Tom Swarbrick whether he would “feel safe in a London run by” Ms Hall.
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Polls suggest Mr Khan is on-course for a third term in Thursday’s vote - but one tally last week hinted that he has only a lead of 13 points over his Tory challenger, who is on 33 per cent.
The Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London may mean the final result may be far closer than earlier polls - and Ms Hall has talked up her chances of a surprise victory.
“It’s about listening. Actually hearing what Londoners want. I’ve met tens of thousands of Londoners, and if they come out and vote, I will win. I know I’ll win. It’s totally doable,” she said during the interview.
However, her campaign has been hit with some criticism over her past social media activity, including the fact that she ‘liked’ a post which called Mr Khan a “traitor rat”, and shared another post which referred to him as the mayor of “Londonistan”.
The Conservative candidate has repeatedly said she has learned from her mistakes and apologised.