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The London Mayor was quizzed by the Green Party leader on the use of clean water and energy in data centres
Watch the moment Lord Sadiq Khan brutally mocks Zack Polanski after responding to his question entirely in Urdu.
Taking questions at the latest London Assembly session, the capital's Mayor was grilled by the Green Party leader on the use of clean water and energy supply in Britain's data centres.
Pressing Lord Khan on the issue, Mr Polanski asked: "Clean energy and water is essential for Londoners. We know that the climate crisis is getting worse, we've seen the heatwaves and the deaths we've had this summer, nearly 3,000 people estimated by the Health Security Agency.
"You mentioned data centres there, and that's what I want to talk about today. We know that the Government considers data centres as essential infrastructure, critical infrastructure. But for most people, critical infrastructure would be water, electricity, and hospitals.
"We also know that the water industry bodies have said they're concerned about the use of water, and also when we look at one data centre of one gigawatts, it could use as much electricity as two million homes.
"So my question is, would you be prepared to say no to a data centre if it didn't secure clean water and energy supply?"
Lord Khan greeted Mr Polanski with "as-salamu alaykum", before proceeding to answer his question completely in Urdu.
The response sparked an eruption of laughter from the Assembly members, with the Mayor letting out a smirk as he continues his answer.
Finishing his response, Lord Khan then turned to the Assembly Chair, taking further aim at Mr Polanski.
Lord Khan reverted back to English, telling the Chair: "Well, I thought, Chair, that as the member is so proficient in Urdu, I would speak in Urdu."
The Chair praised the Mayor, telling him: "That was good pronunciation!"
Lord Khan delivered a secondary swipe to Mr Polanski, telling the Assembly that he was "worried the question may be in Urdu".
The swipe sparked a second round of laughter from the Assembly, before Lord Khan issued an "apology" to Urdu speakers.
He said: "For those Urdu speakers, I apologise if I spoke with a Russian accent."
The dig at the Green Party leader follows the release of the Holborn and St Pancras hopeful's latest campaign video, which was released entirely in Urdu.
The video began: "My name is Zack Polanski, and I am standing for the seat of Holborn and St Pancras", accompanied by Urdu subtitles.
"Because of pressure from the Greens, Labour has made many U-turns. Vote for the Greens."
The simple message ended with an end card, also in Urdu, saying the Green Party was "the voice of local people, not big companies".
The Green Party previously sparked debate during the Gorton and Denton by-election when it released campaign ads in both Urdu and Bangla.
Hitting out at Mr Polanski's video, Conservative MP Katie Lam accused the Green leader of "poisonous" tactics.
She said: "We must ban this practice for good. Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life."
