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Boris: I will put City Hall register of interests on Net
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent6 Mar 2008
Boris Johnson has pledged to throw open the doors of City Hall in a bid to restore Londoners' faith in the Mayor's administration.
The Tory candidate set out a five point plan - including a public register of interests for all staff - which he would bring in if he won the 1 May poll. He claimed Ken Livingstone was "mired in maladministration" after allegations about his former aide Lee Jasper's links with organisations which received large sums from City Hall. Mr Jasper quit this week over sexuallycharged emails he sent to Karen Chouhan, a married mother of three who is company secretary of one of the groups which received public money.
He has been accused of breaking a GLA code of conduct which requires the Mayor's staff to disclose any "close personal" relationships with groups that receive funding. However, the Mayor says he has done nothing wrong and has promised to reinstate him.
Revealing his plans for greater transparency, Mr Johnson said: "We must recognise that Londoners work hard for every penny they pay into the running of the capital and we owe it to all of them to reassure them that their money is being spent wisely and effectively."
His plans include:
• Biographies, responsibilities and contact details of mayoral advisers clearly listed on website so the public can see their role and get in touch.
• A code of conduct similar to the rules for ministerial special advisers published on website to reiterate the standards expected of aides.
• Register of interests covering all staff at the Greater London Authority, including the Mayor's office, published online and updated regularly.
• Question-and-answer sessions for mayoral advisers with the London Assembly to ensure they are held to account on a regular basis.
Mr Johnson's aides said he was keen to avoid bringing in any kind of external enforcer, for example local government watchdog the Standards Board for England.
His plans were echoed by those of Lib-Dems on the London Assembly who claimed a scrutiny hearing yesterday with senior advisers gave a "worrying insight" into the way decisions were made in the Mayor's office. They called for clear rules on how mayoral advisers could intervene in the workings of bodies such as the London Development Agency and Transport for London.
Reader views (1)
Boris's views should not stop with the locals, they should begin the process with ALL ex-MP's pensions being suspended until completion of a national review and investigation of corruption and abuse.
Secondly, ALL MEPs should be suspended until further notice without pay and ALL outstanding payments from the public purse cancelled.
The current Lord Mayor of London should be appointed as Executive Authority for Parliament until "sensible" political systems and personages are put in place, after public referendums.
ALL existing New Labour and other appointed officials should be suspended from office, without pay.
- Peter Renton, Haslemere, 19/06/2008 16:19
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