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Johnson faces cronyism claim over LDA choice
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard6 Aug 2008
A new member of the London Development Agency was today revealed as one of Boris Johnson's key funders.
Edmund Lazarus, a former Westminster councillor, made three payments totalling £22,500 to Mr Johnson in the run-up to the elections. He will take up a seat as a business member.
The Mayor immediately came under fire for "rewarding" his donors.
John Biggs, Labour's deputy leader on the London Assembly, said appointments to paid positions should be made "solely on merit", adding that it showed the Mayor's "promise to end cronyism was nothing more than empty words".
However, a spokesman for the Mayor said: "Edmund Lazarus has significant business experience and knowledge and was selected as an LDA board member on merit alone."
The spokesman said the appointment was made after "an independent assessment-during which all interests were declared".
Mr Lazarus was a Westminster councillor from 1992 to 2000 and is a founding partner of private equity firm Englefield Capital. Before that he worked at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.
The LDA board will include a Lib-Dem councillor but no Labour members. Former mayor Ken Livingstone said it was "a direct attack on the accountability and transparency of the LDA", adding that all three major parties were represented under him.
An audit ordered by Mr Johnson found that tens of millions of pounds had been wasted since the LDA's conception in 2000. Interim chief executive Peter Rogers says the body is now moving in the right direction and meetings with business leaders are going ahead.
