Sadiq Khan 'has won' London mayoral election, beating Zac Goldsmith

Labour's Sadiq Khan is on course for a historic victory in the London mayoral elections.

The result is not yet official, but with counting almost over the MP for Tooting is nine points ahead of his closest rival, Conservative Zac Goldsmith. Khan seems set to become the first Muslim mayor of London.

The BBC's chief pollster, Professor John Curtice said: "It seems perfectly clear Sadiq Khan is going to win" the race for London Mayor. He added that "there is no doubt the Conservatives are going to lose the mayoralty in London".

"With almost 80% of first-preference votes counted, Sadiq has won without question," Peter Kellner, the former chairman of the market research firm YouGov, told the Guardian in late afternoon. "He is well ahead on the first count and that's not going to change radically."

The result follows an often bitter campaign in which Goldsmith accused Khan of pandering to Islamic extremists, and ends eight years of Tory rule in City Hall.

So far 13 out of 14 London Assembly seats have been declared.

Labour have won eight, taking Merton and Wandsworth from the Conservatives, who held five boroughs.

So far voter turnout is 45%, an increase of seven per cent on 2012.

As part of the election, voters were able to choose a first and second preference for mayor, and two types of assembly members: one for their borough and one for the city.