Morning:
14°c
You know things must be getting bad at City Hall when they crank out the “air-conditioned Tube trains” story for the third time in a year.
On Tuesday, as the Standard revealed that Boris Johnson's deputy had dined his mistress at public expense, then lied about it, the westbound Distraction Line once again emerged from its siding.
The “news” that the Tube's sub-surface lines are to get air-conditioned trains has, to my reckoning, been announced no fewer than eight times: on 7 April 2003, 6 July 2005, 6 December 2006, 24 April 2007 and 29 May 2007 under Ken Livingstone and on 24 June 2008, 25 September 2008 and 23 June 2009 under Boris.
If only they could get the Circle line running as frequently, all our problems would be over.
This week's Tube air-con “story” helped obscure an event even more regular than a City Hall policy reannouncement — the forced exit of another of Boris Johnson's senior aides, whose bodies are beginning to block the corridors like a scene from some 1970s disaster movie.
Ian Clement's departure is, I think, easily the most serious yet.
For the first time since Ken's aide Lee Jasper, also exposed by this newspaper, public money is involved.
To be sure, the amounts are small beside the sums Jasper funnelled to his cronies.
Clement treated his lover to meals and allegedly a hotel stay worth a few hundred quid; Jasper gave £171,000 of GLA cash to an organisation run by a lady friend he hoped to “honey glaze”.
But Clement's behaviour is in some ways worse. Personal gain and deceit was involved.
Unlike with Jasper, whose misdeeds were always a matter for the voters and the district auditor, not the police, what Clement did may actually be criminal.
It also shows a disturbing unwillingness to learn from earlier scandals.
During the crisis around Ray Lewis, ex-deputy No 1, the key problems were Boris's appointing Lewis without properly investigating his background then publicly supporting him against allegations of misconduct, without properly investigating his denials.
Exactly the same happened here. Ian Clement's use of an earlier corporate credit card, while leader of Bexley council, should have raised questions about his judgment.
When the Standard revealed, last Wednesday, that he used his GLA card for airline upgrades, Boris was “furious” but did not think to order that Clement's other expenses be combed through.
He must surely now regret saying that Clement's behaviour was “crass” but not a resigning matter.
To those who see the Clement affair as evidence of fundamental, systemic failings in the Johnson City Hall, Team Boris might reasonably reply: no system can prevent the kind of dishonesty shown by Clement; you have to trust your most senior advisers.
True, but that depends on appointing trustworthy advisers, not something on which Boris has a flawless record.
Why, then, has the scandal so far not damaged Boris more?
Why, despite a backdrop of MPs' misdeeds, has it had relatively little impact to date?
Perhaps we are finally tired of stories about politicians abusing their expenses.
Perhaps the times are kind to Tories. Perhaps the Mayor's opponents have cried wolf too often to be taken seriously when it is serious (Ken Livingstone was proclaiming that London was in “decline and decay” within 10 days of the election).
There is also one vital lesson that has been learned from earlier crises.
Livingstone's response to allegations against his staff was to hug them even closer, attack the journalists concerned as racist liars and falsely deny everything.
I've always said that the real damage of the Lee Jasper affair was done not by Jasper's behaviour, but by Ken's; he took ownership of the wrongdoer and prolonged the scandal in a wholly unnecessary way.
Under Johnson, when problems threaten to get in the papers, the miscreant is immediately dropped, bound hand and foot, off the nearest Thames bridge.
Denials and excuses are not made. Within 48 hours of the Standard starting to make inquiries into his girlfriend, Ian Clement was out.
Yet because this is serious, it would be a mistake to imagine that it is over.
Clement may have gone when the media started sniffing round but it now emerges that his expenses were causing grave concern inside City Hall as early as last summer.
The London Assembly is, quite rightly, digging into those most dangerous of questions: who knew what, and when?
If part of the answer is “Boris”, it could be very tricky indeed.
And if Clement lands up in court, could the Mayor be called to give evidence?
The other thing happening is that Johnson's political enemies might at last be getting it.
Ken has finally realised that hanging around at City Hall and lashing Boris for every crack in the pavement is counter-productive and appears to have stopped doing both.
His statements on Clement have been few and low-key.
He is showing signs of playing a smarter and longer game, even if he has probably damaged himself too much over the last sour-grapes year to recover.
Will any of it, in the end, matter? Few voters have really heard of Ian Clement and his speedy defenestration is aimed at ensuring that they never get the chance to.
The only person at City Hall most Londoners know is Boris, against whom no misconduct has been alleged.
The optimistic scenario is that Brand Johnson remains personally unaffected and that this ex-deputy will fade only a little less quickly than all the others.
The pessimistic scenario, however, is that, rather like the first trace of plaque on a tooth, this is the start of a build-up.
The Clement investigation drags on. There is a new financial embarrassment at the LDA, with a £100 million Olympic black hole.
More personnel troubles may emerge. The administration still needs a theme, is still a little addicted to minor initiatives.
Let's hope sleaze or incompetence does not become that theme.
Maybe, in the end, it will be the 15th reannouncement of air-conditioning on the Tube that will snap voters' patience, as much as the 15th discarded deputy.
Reader views (17)
Oh sooo wrong and terminal for london
- A Trebilcock, Manchester uk
You're not STILL going on at Lee Jasper? He was never found guilty of any wrongdoing.
- Mellie From London, London, UK
This is all such bad news for London. I wish everyone would stop banging on about whether Boris or Ken are worse than the other. The truth is Londoners have got it wrong twice and they have damaged their own city. What I now fear is that the contamination is about to spread to the London Boroughs. It has already engulfed Bexley and Kensington and Chelsea doesn't look too good.
- Richard, London
They are all honest, if they are well watched.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Is that a photo-shopped image? Boris appears to be on a train- not a cab!
- Fresh, London
Dear Andrew Gilligan,
I don't know if (investigative) journalists read readers comments, but, and whilst I understand your job is to 'out' the bad things more than the good (good things are boring after all and done make a good read), could you at least make the reader aware of and understand the good things Boris had done and include some positive remarks on his achievements in his, so far, short term and how damaging socialism (in any guise) is .
Thank you.
- Boris-Defender, London
Andrew for god's sake give up banging on about Lee Jasper, let go. Focus on the here and now and apply some proper scrutiny to the powers that be. Or is there a conflict of interests?
- Steve S, London
Perhaps we should have a campaign about how bad Bendy Buses are, featuring doctored statistics and sock puppets. Over to you Andrew.
- Carl, London
Its a real shame there was not a better alternative to Livingstone than Boris. Surely one of the most basic executive skills a leader needs is to be able to select deputies with integrity. I cannot see how anyone could argue that Boris has not failed miserably in this. It is a pity also that he lacks the humility to be spurred by his failures into being a bit more focussed on his job rather than writing silly columns in the Telegraph.
- Andrew, London
Yep, he's a crim and Boris has booted him out. Unfortunately, in every public and private organisation there will be people that break the rules for their own gain.
The difference here is that he was caught and has been dealt with. I don't remember Jasper ever being booted out - I think he went on extended gardening leave - and Livingstone constantly defended his fraudulent pal.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
I think there is a clue in your accompanying picture. When the air-conditioning is installed will Boris start using the Tube or is he waiting for First-Class Carriages to be introduced?
- S Russell, Barnes England
The reason Boris gets away with it is that other Papers, especially the Telegraph, ignore any stories that might damage Boris, I wonder why? The TV and Radio seem to only give Boris positive stories. It was the same with the MP's expenses, Cameron and his Shadow Cabinet were given kid-glove treatment while the media concentrated on the Labour Party apart from Moats and Duck-ponds which were treated in a light-hearted way. The media are tired of Labour and want some new, exciting, Obama-like characters to build up. Unfortunately the nearest they have got is David Cameron and his Glamorous wife so he will have to do.
- F Skate, Hammersmith England
Val,
only you could be standing up for Lee Jasper. I presume you needed to stand up in a vat of Sangria before even you could type that with a straight face.
- Scott, London
Jasper was crooked and was investigated. I trust that he is never again in a position to channel public money to his friends. The fact that politicians of every hue seen unable to understand that cheating is wrong does not change our disgust for Jasper and for Ken who defended him to the last.
- Mjones, london
At least with Boris when the scandal emerges the suspect is out within the day. With Ken it dragged on and on and on.........
- W R Stevenson, London SE26
At last, Andrew, despite all the claims of alleged criminal activity and snide innuendo up to and during the Mayoral election, you have admitted that nothing Lee Jasper did was even remotely criminal. All Police investigations, too, have cleared him of any wrongdoing. What a different version of events we read in this newspaper though. However, we can see it was all smoke and mirrors used to blacken Ken's name and the Labour administration, and get Boris elected by fair means or foul. Now County Hall is full of Conservative ex-Council Leaders, current Council Leaders, ex-Councillors, and current Councillors, and various Tory hangers-on, all having my-turn lunches together at the London taxpayers expense. The food claims of MPs are nothing compared to these troughers who appear to gorge themselves and their friends on a daily basis at huge expense. You and London will surely rue the day you got what you wished for.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
The day is coming Andrew when you will curse yourself for ever backing that man for London Mayor.
- David, London UK
