Counting begins in London as Sadiq Khan looks set to take over at City Hall after even senior Tories blast Zac Goldsmith's 'divisive' campaign

Sadiq Khan appeared on course for victory in the capital today after a huge election day poll lead appeared to translate into a clear advantage as the votes were counted. A live tracker of the count revealed Mr Khan scoring more than 45 per cent of the vote in the first round once around a quarter of the ballots had been counted. Zac Goldsmith looks set to be heavily defeated and overnight senior Tories hit out at his 'outrageous' anti-Muslim campaign. The final result of the race to succeed Boris Johnson will be announced at City Hall later today. If a win for Mr Khan is confirmed it will mean the Conservatives losing control of the London mayoralty for the first time in eight years.