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Ken Livingstone's fightback against sleaze allegations has been damaged after one of his key advisers resigned after admitting she had lied.
Rosemary Emodi, deputy to Mr Livingstone's race adviser Lee Jasper, quit her £100,000-a-year post after taking a free trip to a £200-a-night beach resort.
She went there with Errol Walters, director of two organisations linked to Mr Jasper which have received substantial amounts of City Hall cash.
The trip was apparently arranged after Mr Walters suggested the resort in Nigeria could receive City Hall fundingto bring "youths of African descent from the UK" to "reconnect with their roots" in a youth camp, Kamp Afrika, which is backed by the Greater London Authority.
Last week, the Mayor's office told journalists who found out about the trip that Ms Emodi had not been on it. "This story is totally inaccurate, false and invented," said a City Hall spokesman.
"Rosemary Emodi has never visited Kamp Afrika in Nigeria. She was in London during the dates concerned." As late as yesterday morning, Mr Livingstone himself dismissed the Nigeria trip as "completely and utterly nothing to do with us ... I'm told she [Ms Emodi] wasn't there."
Yesterday afternoon, however, the BBC showed that air travel records revealed Ms Emodi had flown to Nigeria on the dates concerned. Ms Emodi immediately admitted she had lied and resigned.
A statement from the GLA last night said: "It has now become clear that the formal statement made by Rosemary Emodi was untrue. She has resigned with immediate effect."
The statement blamed Ms Emodi for not "honestly answering questions put to [her]".
But one London Labour MP said there were still unanswered questions about the original City Hall denials. Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, said: "Even if the Mayor's office was lied to by Rosemary Emodi, why did they say in their statement last week that she was in London on the dates of the trip, when they must have been able to see that she was not at work?"
Ms Emodi and Mr Walters, who are close friends, spent a long weekend from Friday 30 November to Monday 3 December at the five-star La Campagne Tropicana beach resort near Lagos.
Mr Walters is director of Brixton Base and acting director of the Black Londoners Forum, two projects at the centre of the Evening Standard's investigation into 13 questionable organisations linked to Mr Jasper which have received more than £3.3 million in City Hall money but appear to have done little, if anything, in return.
Brixton Base was set up as a "creative training hub" for ethnic minority Londoners, but ran only three short training courses in two years before suddenly going bust three weeks ago. Staff and students on one of the courses say that City Hall money intended to pay for their training never reached them and also allege they were subjected to actual and attempted intimidation by Brixton Base staff.
Brixton Base is likely to be reported to the police within days after auditors sent by Mr Livingstone's London Development Agency could not account for the £535,000 in City Hall money paid to it. It also owes more than £190,000 in unpaid rent.
The Nigerian newspaper This Day described the La Campagne Tropicana visit as a "facility inspection" and said: "The Greater London Authority has appointed a UK-based provider of top-quality training courses for young black people in the creative industries, Brixton Base Ltd, to co-ordinate the logistics of the attendance of youths of African descent from the United Kingdom during the next edition of the youth camp popularly referred to as Kamp Afrika in Lagos next year."
The newspaper quoted Mr Walters as saying that the youth camp was an initiative of Mr Livingstone's to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade and an educational retreat to help British youths of African descent to re-connect with their roots. City Hall today insisted that this was untrue, saying its involvement with Kamp Afrika had been limited to a "purely exploratory" meeting held in October between Mr Jasper, Mr Walters and a Kamp Afrika representative. It said that no mayoral money had been paid to Kamp Afrika and there was "no suggestion" that GLA funds were used for the Nigeria trip. However, although Ms Emodi's and Mr Walters' hotel stay was funded by the resort, questions remain as to who paid for the air fares and Ms Emodi's time. Two of the four days on the trip were working days. Richard Barnes, Tory leader at the London Assembly, said: "What we need answers on now is exactly how much Lee Jasper knew about this trip by his deputy.
"Was he told about it in advance? Did he approve it? Did he give Ms Emodi time off? All this is starting to look like the kind of scandal the Mayor cannot recover from."
Reader views (20)
I guess we now know why the mayor was going to great lengths to silence the media with the manipulative tactics of crying racism when the press first started this investigation.
Also, Damian Hockney Am, stated that the, "important papers we ask for which are not in the public domain we are denied. These are the ones we need to do our job." and also stated, "were also told at one point we were asking too much of the Mayor's office by way of info. "
If the above statement is indeed true, Mr. Hockney, as someone who pays my share of London taxes, I feel there should be a call for independent auditors, like Price Waterhouse Coopers to examine the books and if the Mayor and his Office refuse, then we know that there is indeed some form of guilt or why else refuse access? Innocence never has to be hidden or subverted.
Furthermore, if indeed it is found to be true that accounts exist where City Hall's (The Tax Payer's) money was found to be going to bogus groups or for causes that are determined to be dodgy or suspect then the Mayor should resign from office and withdraw his bid for re-election. If the mayor wants to defend the huge powers of his fifedom, then he has to take the punshiment if it is determined that he has allowed his fifedom has run amok.
- Grace, London and NY
Underlying this is this ridiculous and dangerous system of the directly elected executive mayor. Putting complete power into the hands of one person with the councillors just having some powerless "scrutiny" role is a recipe for disaster. It is bound to lead to a lack of proper financial control, appointment of cronies to well-paid jobs, and much else in the exercise of secretive power. I said this when the system was first proposed, and I said it when I was Leader of the Opposition in the London Borough of Lewisham where New Labour also introduced this system. Yet most of the media and all the "great and good" all came out in favour of this system. Those of us who argued against it - small in numbers - were denounced as "political dinosaurs", people who were too old fashioned and couldn't see the modern way of doing things was to take power away from committees and put it all into the hands of a "dynamic" personality.
Well, can you see the point I was making now? As the current mayoral election is showing, a related problem is that the mayoral system means people tend to vote on shallow personality issues, so the glib-speaking joker wins out over the sober personality who probably actually has the personal qualities and integrity top do what the job really entails.
We must get rid of this mayoral system wherever it has been introduced in local government and return to the old safe system of shared power.
- Matthew Huntbach, Eltham
Without knowing exactly what has happened here I cannot see how so many people can condemn Ken. He had no idea, and that's a fact. What is evident here is that Mr Jasper abused his postion of trust and his friends, because of what they are, saw an oppotunity to fulfill their greedy appetite for money and exploited him. As a black person I am so sick of these types of people claiming that they are working for the benefit of the black community, when they are not. Errol Walters is an unscrupulous money hungry buffoon, who rode on the back of Lee's success to grab as much money as he could (fact). Take it from someone who knows, when I say the Mayor knew nothing and these guys should be sent to jail. Just for the record there are a wealth of organisations funded by the LDA who run productive projects that really do benefit the communities they serve and the people that work within them are held accountable. It's important not to make judgement unless you have all the facts, there are so many jobs and lives at stake here. Errol and Lee will quite rightly get what they deserve, they do say that thieves never prosper. But please for goodness sake, stop using this as an excuse to create a political slur against the Mayor, betrayal is a terrible thing and lets face it most decent people would never dream of doing what Errol or Lee has done. Some persective is required here and rational thinking, why punish everyone the LDA employs because of the treachery perpetrated by a few?
- Insignificant But Significant Enough!!, London
Any credibility Ken Livingstone had, is fast diappearing down the toilet! Hes had his day and its now time for London to have someone who cares about Londoners and not their own status.On reflection, he has done many things that are not in the interests of Londoners as a whole but chosen some dodgy characters to give his time and our money to! Time to go Kenny boy!
- Yvonne Byrne, London. England
Most Black people didn't even know Jasper, Walters, Emodi etc even existed before 2007 let alone these little south london groups supposedly serving the whole of London. So most will be asking where the heck have our taxes gone to? Can't even blame Ken really except for believing that the people he hired were honest, talented, inspired, dedicated and in tune with the problems faced by some of their people. If Gilligan's campaign against Ken succeeds then it will be they not Gilligan who has felled Ken. What a sham. I didn't realise that this African roots fad which comes out of the US had been taken so far and that our leaders were chucking money at it. Ken would never have fallen into this trap 20 yrs ago... He's lost his edge.
- Natalia Grant, London, UK
It’s quite clear theres a deliberate hate campaign to toppled Kenny from office. A lot of black-led charity organisations are seriously under funded, anyway. Please name these nine organisations aside form Brixtonbase and I don’t believe Miss Emodi wage is £100,000 a year .
- Francis Edwards, London, England
She admitted she lied and resigned.Gilligan on the other hand denied he had lied and did not resign until forced to. Who has more integrity?
- Billy Blighty, London, England
Good for the Standard to keep chasing this story. This is what journalism should be about. Keep pulling that thread and I bet more nepotism and greed will come tumbling out. Well done, but we want more.
- Steve, London
Politicians are the same the world over. As soon as they get in office they assume they are royalty and whatever they can get away with are perks of their office. The taxpayers be damned.
- Richard, Eastern Shore, MD USA
£100k for an "adviser"? That is more of a crime than jollying it up at a swanky hotel.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
As a London Assembly Member, I take on board Paul Greek's point above, but we do not have the powers to do what he suggests. We are barred from important information, as I told Ruth Kelly, Jim Fitzpatrick and the Mayor and journalists at a press conference on the announcement of new powers for the Mayor. As I said then, we are barred from access to most contracts and financial issues on grounds of commercial confidentiality. At his press conference yesterday, the Mayor effectively said that Assembly Members do not ask for papers. Wrong wrong wrong. The important papers we ask for which are not in the public domain we are denied. These are the ones we need to do our job. Could an accountant audit a company if he was told that he was barred from having the bank statements and books? The stuff already in the public arena we can get for ourselves (and do). In fact our Group, the One London Party, were also told at one point we were asking too much of the Mayor's office by way of info. You can't win when you have a scrutiny structure loaded in favour of the person being held to account. People in the public eye are now talking about the structure being wrong...shame they didn't listen when we told them that repeatedly during the 2-year discussions about the recently passed GLA Act. And will the others commit to changing it if they get into power?
- Damian Hockney Am, London, UK
A deputy to Mr. Livingstone's "Race Adviser" makes 100,000 a year? How much does the "Race Adviser" make and how many other deputies are there? Boy, am I in the wrong business.
- R M, London, UK
Why on earth is London funding or thinking of funding trips for Nigerian descent London youths only to this holiday resort in Nigeria Kamp Afrika? Shouldn't London be doing all it can to ensure its inhabitants are actually committed to making the city work, instead of shipping them out to foreign climes and doubtless telling them how badly treated they are in London (no mention made doubtless that London funds these extravaganzas)?
- Helen, Norwich
What a surprise. Red Ken pouring yet more taxpayers money into junket projects with no return.
Glad my council tax is only going up 13% next year when inflation is only 2.1%. At least it explains where all my money is going.
I can see why councillors want taxi allowances too, I mean, it's not like we aren't funding enough at present is it?
- Sebastian, Surrey
£100,000 a year for a deputy race adviser? Nice work if you can get it! And now the Mayor's Office has been left with egg all over its face after first lying to journalists. It turns out it was the Mayor's stooge who lied.
Isn't this yet another example of guilt-ridden white, politically correct liberals doling out London taxpayers' money hand over fist to minority bodies that simply don't have the maturity, wisdom or knowledge of political and financial control to be able to handle it without getting their snouts in the trough?
- Roy Stockdill, Watford, Herts
Am I alone in being staggered by the size of Ms Emodi's salary for her non-job? Yet it appears that is still not enough for her. How nice of Livingstone to distance himself from the matter, having made categorical denials in the first instance. Why should we believe his subsequent, or indeed any assurances, and this smoke is surely underlaid by fire.
It must be cheering for the hard working ordinary taxpayers of London, and one assumes there must still be some, to know their funds are being used by their newt-fancying Trotskyist leader in this way. Is it perhaps WHY he gets elected? That would be even sadder.
- Michael Llewellyn, Bridgetown, Barbados
'Last week, the Mayor's office told journalists who found out about the trip that Ms Emodi had not been on it. "This story is totally inaccurate, false and invented," said a City Hall spokesman."
Would Mr Gilligan interview Ms Emodi and Mr Walters to ascertain how London youths of African descent are going to "reconnect with their roots" by going to a 5 star beach resort?
From the subsequent denial from the GLA that "the youth camp was an initiative of Mr Livingstone's", has the Mayor at last woken up to the fact that his name and the taxpayer's money are being used by people with six figure salaries, to pursue their own personal agendas?
- Tcbh, London, England
The problem is, I no longer believe anything they say! If I believe the first lie, shame on you. If I believe the second lie, shame on me.
How many lie's are we up to now?
If King Ken's Kronies say good morning, I am inclined to go and get my pyjamas out of the drawer.
There is a Limit!
- Dene Wood, Grays, Essex,
This and other spurious expenditure, along with highly paid "advisers" who do not do anything, are examples of the excesses of expenditure we are suffering from the Mayor. It must also be one of the reasons why the GLA portion of our council tax is so high. I think that the London Assembly should take the opportunity to scrutinise the Mayor's budget (which is about the only power they have) and refuse to pass it unless he cuts out all this wasteful expenditure.
- Paul Greek, London, England
Mayor himself - should he not resign as well? You know being a good leader and showing the example etc.
- Jayo, London,
