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City Hall 'crony' heads Jasper probe
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent13 Mar 2008
Ken Livingstone faced more accusations of cronyism today after he appointed a key adviser to oversee the independent inquiry into former aide Lee Jasper.
The Mayor has asked Murziline Parchment, his Director of Major Projects, to choose a lawyer to investigate whether Mr Jasper broke strict City Hall rules.
But Tory rival Boris Johnson suggested her involvement was inappropriate as she is head of the department for which Mr Jasper worked.
Mr Livingstone has indicated that the outcome of the inquiry could be one factor in determining whether Mr Jasper is reinstated.
His former race adviser, who resigned last week after The Standard revealed he sent intimate emails to a woman involved in organisations that received public funds, breached the rules by failing to declare an interest.
Mr Livingstone has asked Ms Parchment, a qualified lawyer, to draw up a shortlist of people with the necessary experience and qualifications to investigate.
He said: "A police investigation will continue looking into matters of corruption, this inquiry will look into everything else."
In an attempt to reassure critics, he added: "We're not going to come up with someone who has spent their life on Left-wing marches.
"You may not trust Murziline Parchment but I trust her judgment on legal matters. I've no idea what her politics are."
But mayoral candidate Boris Johnson said: "Londoners can have no confidence in the outcome of any investigation unless it is truly independent.
"A mayoral adviser is not the appropriate person to select a lawyer to investigate another adviser. Ken Livingstone is yet again being judge and jury to ensure he gets the answer he wants."
Shadow London minister Bob Neill said the investigation looked like "a fix" and asked the Mayor to give the job to the Greater London Authority chief executive Anthony Mayer instead.
"There are other qualified lawyers in this building, she happens to be someone who by the nature of her job has worked closely with Mr Jasper," he said. "To get one of his policy directors to search for a lawyer to investigate another one of his policy directors, whatever their personal merits or views, it just looks as if it's fixed."
The Mayor refused three times at his final Question Time yesterday to answer whether he knew Mr Jasper had broken GLA rules by failing to declare interest.
He said he would wait to give evidence to the inquiry instead, prompting accusations from the Tories that he was "putting up a wall of silence".
Mr Livingstone has repeatedly insisted that he would reinstate Mr Jasper if police cleared him after allegations of misuse of public funds.
Yesterday, he added: "Let's wait and see the inquiry. I'll make a judgment when I see the lawyer's report."
Reader views (1)
No other job would allow illegal actions to go unchallenged or unpunished - there should be no question of Mr Jasper being reinstated. Comrade Ken should not have a say in the matter - doesn't he work for us or has this country already become a dictatorship?
- Derek, Bromley, Kent, 13/03/2008 23:23
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