'This guy is a joke': Sadiq Khan triggers Twitter after saying 'heartbroken' Londoners should be able to keep EU citizenship

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is urging the UK government to allow Londoners and other British nationals who are upset over Brexit to retain "associate citizenship" of the EU, provoking both anger and praise on social media.

Ahead of his visit to Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the issue with senior EU officials, Khan claimed he could not think of a better way of resolving differences between 'Leavers' and 'Remainers' than to allow UK citizens who still feel European to keep their link to the EU.

Like so many Londoners, I am heartbroken that we are no longer a member of the European Union, but that doesn't mean our country's future can't be closely linked with the rest of Europe.

The idea of associate citizenship – which has been earmarked by several high-profile EU officials – could involve individuals paying a fee in order to retain many bloc "benefits" after Brexit, including the right to move freely between member states.

The London mayor's comments have riled many Brexiteers online, with many suggesting he was in fact doing the opposite of bringing the country together by attempting to keep Londoners within the EU. One annoyed Leaver tweeted: "This guy is a joke. We are out and that means all of us."

Others on Twitter questioned why Khan was involving himself in any post-Brexit negotiations with Brussels, suggesting that he should instead be focusing on the knife crime epidemic currently blighting the UK capital.

There were also those who took a swipe at the mayor's emotive rhetoric, and accused him of being anti-democratic. One person sarcastically tweeted: "Breaking democracy to heal broken hearts. How romantic."

However, amongst the negativity there was some support for Khan's intervention from ardent Remainers. In a somewhat backhanded compliment, one EU cheerleader tweeted: "This could be Sadiq's first great idea." Another commented: "Awesome! Where do I sign?"

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