LONDON – Labour’s Sadiq Khan has broken the Conservatives’ eight-year hold on the London mayoralty by defeating Tory rival Zac Goldsmith. The Tooting MP will become the first Muslim mayor of London after he emerged as the victor over Zac Goldsmith and 11 other contenders. The result follows an at times bitter mayoral bid from both camps, with Goldsmith’s campaign being labelled “vile” by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Goldsmith and David Cameron in turn sought to link Khan, the bookmakers’ favourite to win the mayoral race, with Muslim “extremists” during the lead up to Thursday’s poll. According to Sky News, speaking shortly after vote counting began, a source in Khan’s camp said: “So far as we can tell, things have gone pretty much as we expected.” Earlier outgoing mayor Boris Johnson thanked the capital for his eight years in office as he sent his final messages from the official Twitter account. “It’s time to sign off from City Hall – it’s been the most amazing privilege to be your mayor,” he tweeted.