The ruling was influenced by the legacy of the September 11 attacks, which had happened in the period between the judge's decision and the delivery of his judgment. Khan later became a Labour Party politician. During his campaign in the 2016 London mayoral election, his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith mentioned Khan's defence of Farrakhan as part of his campaign to portray Khan as a sympathiser to extremists. Khan told "Jewish News" that the nature of his profession as a human rights lawyer meant that he had to defend "unsavoury individuals" with whom he personally disagreed.