𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf has vowed to ban the Mayor of New York from entering the United Kingdom in an extraordinary row over the Koh-i-Noor Diamond. Nigel Farage’s home affairs spokesman, who would take the job of Home Secretary in the event of a Reform Government, issued the rebuke after Zohran Mamdani told reporters he would “encourage” King Charles to return the legendary jewel.

The clash comes as the King visited the National 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan during his four-day US trip, where he laid flowers. Speaking before the event, the Big Apple boss told reporters: “If I were to speak to the King separately from that, I’d probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-noor diamond.”

The comment sparked fury from British politicians, with Mr Yusuf saying that the “beautiful diamond” is currently on display in the Tower of London “where it will stay”. In a swipe at the Democrat Mayor – who swept into office last year – he added that “Mamdani may be looting New Yorkers”, referencing the Mayor’s proposals to hike taxes on the wealthy, adding “he will have no joy in Britain.”

Mr Yusuf demanded the Mayor “retract this insult to our King” and said that unless he did so, he would ban him from entering the country if he became Home Secretary.

Joining the condemnation, Greg Swenson, Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, told the Daily Express that the Mayor Mamdani was a “communist who hates tradition” and “especially hates wealth”. He accused the Mayor of insulting the Monarch, but added that the proposals of a wealth tax were worse than “any potential spat with the British” as such plans were “wrecking New York”.

Yet the under-fire Mayor saw support from a former rival, Curtis Sliwa. Mr Sliwa, who ran against Mamdani in last year’s race, backed calls for the diamond to be returned.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express he said: “Years ago I visited Bombay and remember speaking to a few historians in India who were Hindu. They told me that there were a number of artefacts that they hoped to get back from collections and Museums in England that were taken from India during England’s colonisation.”

Mr Sliwa added: “They said that over two million men had volunteered and served in the British Indian Army in World War 2. 100,000 were killed and many more wounded.”

Such service to the Crown “merited the return of the artefacts […] that had been taken by the Brits”, he said, adding that he “wholeheartedly” agreed with the Mayor’s request.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, has been in British possession since 1849, when it was presented to Queen Victoria following the annexation of Punjab. The 105.6-carat gem is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and is on public display at the Tower of London.

India, Pakistan and Afghanistan have all previously claimed ownership of the diamond and demanded its return, with the issue remaining an ongoing source of diplomatic tension. The row erupted as the King undertakes a four-day visit to the United States.

Mayor Mamdani was approached for comment.