The UK should stop being "obsessed with trying to please" Donald Trump and start telling the president that he simply doesn't share the country's liberal values, London's mayor Sadiq Khan has told Business Insider.
Khan said Boris Johnson's government had been too "sycophantic" towards the United States and should start telling the president that his views are wrong.
"One of the things that concerns me is we are so obsessed with trying to please America that we act in a sycophantic way," he told Business Insider.
"What we should be doing is saying 'you know what, your views on women I don't agree with, your views on immigrants and Mexicans I don't agree with, your views on Muslims I don't agree with, your views on the LGBT+ community I don't agree with."
"We need to be honest and say these aren't the values that we are about."
Khan has had a series of public spats with the president, with Trump labelling the London mayor a "disaster" and Khan allowing a giant inflatable depiction of the president in a diaper, do be flown over London during his first visit to the country as president.
Khan, who has previously labelled Trump a "poster boy for the far right" told Business Insider that the "UK should be more willing to "say boo to a goose and be honest."
Khan said: "It's like having a best mate. Your expectations of a best mate a higher of those of an acquaintance of a friend or a colleague. And if they're doing something you don't agree with, you're straight with them.
He added: "In life generally, you often work with people you may not necessarily love and adore, but it's about having a good and constructive relationship. That's what we'll need to do with the US and others."
Khan, who is seeking a second term as London's mayor, spoke to Business Insider at the Fabian conference in central London on Saturday, where members of Khan's Labour party were discussing the future of the party, which is currently in the process of choosing its next leader following Jeremy Corbyn's defeat in December's general election.
Khan said he had not yet decided who to back in the contest. However, he warned candidates that the party must change its "entire music", not just its "lead singer," to defeat Johnson's party at the next election.
"I'm slightly nervous by people assuming we simply need to change the lead singer," he told Business Insider.
"That's not what we need to do.
"I think we need to change the entire music we are playing. We need to change the band. We need to realise that we need to persuade people across the country to come to our concerts, not just the same fans."
