Mayor aide accused of flouting election rules

Tory candidate Boris Johnson and Lib-Dem Brian Paddick warned that the adviser could be breaking the rules after an interview in which he said Ken Livingstone was "the candidate of choice" for the 1 May poll.

Mr Jasper, who continues to receive his £120,000-a-year salary, gave an interview attacking Mr Johnson and MrPaddick, although not by name, over their lack of "substantive" policies.

The adviser, one of the Mayor's two political appointees, has been suspended while police consider whether to investigate his involvement in grants given to organisations run by his friends for which there is little or nothing to show. The move came after the Standard revealed concerns over the grants paid by the London Development Agency.

In an interview with The Voice newspaper, Mr Jasper admitted he planned to spend his suspension campaigning to get black Londoners out to vote, suggesting their support was crucial if Mr Livingstone was to be re-elected.

City Hall rules prohibit senior staff from political campaigning, even in their own time, with the apparent intention of winning support for one party.

Today, Mr Johnson said: "He has used this interview to campaign on behalf of his boss even though the rules state he is not allowed to do so. This says everything we need to know about the way the Mayor runs City Hall. Both the Mayor and his cronies have a blatant disregard for the rules."

Mr Paddick added: "It's important that Londoners from all ethnic communities come out to vote on 1 May, but anyone suspended on £120,000 of taxpayer's money should not play any part in the forthcoming elections."

Senior Greater London Authority insiders said Mr Jasper's interview raised "interesting questions" over the rules. Mr Jasper could face referral to City Hall authorities, although disciplinary action would be a matter for the Mayor.

A spokesman for Mr Livingstone said: "This matter has been referred to the relevant officer of the GLA to look at."

Mr Jasper was suspended from his role as Mr Livingstone's policing and race adviser last week over the City Hall grants scandal. It follows 10 weeks of revelations over £3.3million paid by the LDA. Mr Jasper denies any wrongdoing.

Last night he also stepped down as chairman of the Trident Independent Advisory Group, which advises the Met on gun crime in black communities.

He told The Voice: "People see that the other candidates don't have any substantive policy positions on any of the major issues. Ken, standing on his record and his manifesto, will be declared the candidate of choice." He added: "I am going to be working hard with Operation Black Vote and a host of other organisations to register as many of our people to vote... The voting strength of African, Caribbean, Asian communities means nobody can get elected here without the support of these groups."

The GLA said: "Any activity that appears to be a breach of the statutory regulations would be a breach of terms and conditions of employment. Any allegations of breaches would be investigated in the normal way."