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Boris Johnson came under pressure today to reveal the full details of the appointment of his alleged lover to an official fundraising role.
The Mayor asked art consultant Helen Macintyre, 36, to act as an unpaid fundraiser for his Olympic Park sculpture project last spring.
However, her appointment was never made public nor did a Greater London Authority appointments process take place.
Critics called on Mr Johnson to honour his pledge to end cronyism at City Hall and to reveal the circumstances in which she got the role.
They said the allegations about his private life had been dragged into public because of Ms Macintyre's link to Mr Johnson's mayoralty.
In a letter to the Mayor, Labour Assembly member John Biggs said: “While I welcome your decision not to comment on your private life, I would ask you, in the public interest, to outline the process by which Ms Macintyre came to work for the office of the mayor.”
Mr Biggs told the Standard: “Politicians who mix their personal and private lives need to be extremely careful that the two aren't allowed to overlap.
“If there's any evidence that this has happened and that public resources or positions have been awarded improperly, or for any reason other than merit, this would be a cause for concern.”
The Green Party's Jenny Jones said the impact of the alleged affair on Mr Johnson's private life was not the assembly's business: “But it's for the assembly to hold him to account on transparency and accountability and that's where he may have fallen down.”
Sources in the Mayor's office said Ms Macintyre's appointment was the result of a “thorough, transparent process” and that the role was unpaid and informal.
A letter sent retrospectively to Ms Macintyre confirmed her appointment and set out her job description. Her role as fundraising champion was understood to have been approved by the Mayor's culture adviser Munira Mirza.
A City Hall spokesman said: “The aim was to bring in some private funding to avoid spending taxpayers' money to scope out the visitor attraction proposal, which was achieved.”
Ms Macintyre is understood to have started the role in May last year, the same month as her former partner, property tycoon Pierre Rolin, agreed to make a £80,000 donation towards plans for a £20 million tower in the Olympic Park.
Mr Johnson, a married father of four, said he would not allow himself to be distracted by claims that he may be the father of Ms Macintyre's child. He has refused to comment on details of his private life.
Reader views (12)
Has He actually done anything for london?
- Steve, christchurch UK, 22/07/2010 00:07
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It does not take long for these big headed know alls to fall by the way.
- Davey_buoy, Chertsey, 21/07/2010 18:25
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W6, London - maybe she has been paying Boris. After all he still can't get the money together to have a haircut!!!
- peter, Vienna, Austria, 21/07/2010 16:14
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Buffoon, just about sums up the overgrown school kid, with loads of pocket money.
Jaber
- jaberwokie, Bern switzerland, 21/07/2010 15:29
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Stephen C, London - Yes you are right she is an Art Consultant and I would have thought it obvious how having this "unpaid" position would be of benefit to her company. Boris all good - Ken all bad, I don't thing so...
alan campbell, london, uk - Gilligan's with his natural chums on the Torygraph.
- W6, London, 21/07/2010 14:40
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He should also be ashamed for allowing GLA members like O'Connell for having 5 paid jobs work with him? It just smacks of greed.
- Jim, London, 21/07/2010 14:35
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Ah, I see Boris is "Under Fire" yet again. Can a "Fury As Boris...." headline be far behind? Come on Standard, you usually manage to get both into one edition!
- Steve E, London, UK, 21/07/2010 14:01
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Why would she need to be paid when the role gave her influence and access to a whole host of potential new clients for her business, in fact she should have been paying Boris.
- W6, London, 21/07/2010 12:48
What a false argument, she's an art consultant for God's sake who has taken an unpaid job to raise money for the Olympics, how's she going to make money out of that? And if she does, so what, she's giving her time for free.
The usual suspects who will criticise Boris for anything because he's not Ken.
- Stephen C, London, 21/07/2010 14:00
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Why would she need to be paid when the role gave her influence and access to a whole host of potential new clients for her business, in fact she should have been paying Boris.
- W6, London, 21/07/2010 12:48
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His appointments may have been questionable at times but none have yet been caught channeling public money to bogus companies run by their mates. So Ken's fan club might want to shut up.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent, 21/07/2010 12:38
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Andrew Gilligan's quiet these days.
- alan campbell, london, uk, 21/07/2010 11:55
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The problem with Boris - as many of his contemporaries will atest - is that he genuinely believes that he is above the rules that others have to follow.
Up until know, his buffoonish persona have served to distract from this. Not for much longer.
- Mike, London, 21/07/2010 11:51
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