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£10m saved from axing Londoner 'has already been spent'
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard08.07.08
Boris Johnson was today facing accusations that he has already spent the savings made from scrapping the Mayor's newspaper The Londoner.
In one of his first moves as Mayor Mr Johnson got rid of Ken Livingstone's free paper. He valued the savings at just over £10 million for his mayoral term, but Green Party figures show the Mayor has already committed over £16 million worth of spending against his "savings".
Mr Johnson first pledged all the money to his environment manifesto for parks, street trees, and a prize for low carbon technology initiatives.
But in a response to a question from Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones, he said extra Safer Transport Teams costing £1.5 million a year would also be met from The Londoner savings.
Ms Jones said: "Finance may not be Boris's strong point, but surely he must realise that once spent, money stays spent. If this is his idea of value for money, I hate to think of his idea of poor financial management."
But a spokesman for the Mayor said money for all projects would be found through various cuts across City Hall.
Reader views (1)
While some people are criticising Boris for spending the savings from the Londoner perhaps it would be an appropriate time to look at Ken's spending. DLA £3.5M Londoner £10M and failed litigation at £11M+ On one occasion it was the US Embassy for Congestion Charges and and recently the Authority was sued by Porsche over the £25 surcharge for 4X4's. So let Boris get on with the job of mayor; but by all means lets have a comparison at the end of the first year to see who has wasted most money : Boris or Ken.
- Jeremiah, London
