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Mike Freer

Latest articles

Barnet agrees 'easyCouncil' extra charges for residents

22.10.09

Residents in north London will have to pay extra for 'first-class' council services such as extra rubbish collections... more

David Cameron talks the local talk - but will he walk it?

15.09.09

Tory low-cost easyCouncils could be a dummy run for Whitehall – as long as Mr Cameron sticks to his guns... more

Top Tory facing suspension for calling blogger poisonous

07.09.09

One of London’s most outspoken politicians faces censure and Ł10,000 legal bill after describing an internet blogger as an 'obsessive, poisonous individual'... more

Police charge Mayor's former deputy over alleged expenses misuse

04.09.09

Boris Johnson's disgraced deputy mayor Ian Clement has been charged over the alleged misuse of his expenses... more

MP lines up with cash-and-carry millionaire to fight Ł4billion Brent Cross makeover

02.09.09

To the casual observer, the proposed Ł4billion regeneration of London's first shopping mall is good news. Brent Cross shopping centre will be reborn, with 7,500 homes, three rebuilt schools, a railway station and 27,000 jobs... more

Tories to use council as test for 'no-frills' government

28.08.09

Tory-run London council is to offer 'Ryanair-style' public services in a radical experiment that could provide a blueprint for a David Cameron government... more

Pakistan must rise to its Taliban challenge

28.08.09

President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, widower of the assassinated Benazir Bhutto, visits Downing Street today at a crucial point in British relations with his country... more

City Spy: Shine boss Murdoch cooks up clever plug on BBC

13.07.09

Elisabeth Murdoch, the boss of Shine TV and an intriguing wild card in the race to be the next ITV chief executive, is a savvy operator... more

Boris Johnson former deputy to be quizzed by police

26.06.09

Boris Johnson's former deputy mayor Ian Clement to be questions by police over use of his corporate credit card... more

Mayor’s former deputy to face fraud inquiry

26.06.09

Scotland Yard has opened a fraud inquiry into allegations that one of Boris Johnson’s key deputies misused his corporate credit card... more

Axed Boris Johnson aide lied over lover

23.06.09

A deputy mayor sacked by Boris Johnson lied about expenses claims he made over meals with his lover, it has been revealed... more

Where does Darling get his forecasts from?

23.04.09

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'Marmite mayor' with four different jobs earns Ł104,000 plus expenses

10.03.09

A leading London Tory at the centre of an expenses row is on a six-figure pay package funded by the taxpayer... more

Council's parking 'sale' to draw shoppers

12.12.08

A London council has become the first in the country to introduce a parking "sale" - slashing the cost of parking to encourage Christmas shoppers... more

Icestorm in Barnet hits a banking exec

12.11.08

ICELANDIC tremors among the power-hungry politicos at Barnet council, which, as readers of City Spy will recall, managed to blow a stonking Ł28 million of taxpayers’ money in Glitnir and Landsbanki.... more