My mother slept with an AK47 by her bed to protect us. Now I want to make London’s streets safer

Sara Gezdari, a child refugee from Albania and one of three Conservatives shortlisted to contest the 2028 London mayoral election, says her childhood experiences have shaped her focus on public safety. She recalls being confined at home during Albania’s 1997 civil war, when girls faced the threat of kidnapping, and says her mother kept an AK47 by the bed for protection.

Now a businesswoman and mother living in Richmond, Gezdari says she wants more police patrols and a stronger focus on crime. Conservative members are due to receive ballots to choose between her, former foreign secretary James Cleverly and former Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner Festus Akinbusoye. She has criticised Mayor Sadiq Khan for focusing on Brexit and reparations, pointing instead to London’s 349,000 unemployed people.