The London Assembly have questioned the manner in which Boris Johnson has appointed his advisors since coming to office last month.
The Business Management and Administration Committee (BMAC) of the Assembly yesterday “clarity and transparency” in a range of issues including the role, responsibilities and rewards of staff as well as the cost and length of appointment of each of the 15 ‘transition team consultants’ contracted to support the Mayor.
Assembly Members are aso seeking clarity on the legality of the procedures used to appoint permanent mayoral advisers and the decision making responsibilities of the mayor’s permanently appointed advisers.
The calls come after Mr Johnson, who pledged an “end to cronyism” during the election campaign, appointed a number of Conservative supporters to key roles with what he has now admitted are purely vanity titles of ‘deputy mayor‘ and the legality of one announced appointment was called into question.
At his first Mayor’s Question Time Johnson himself seemed unsure which powers he’d delegated to his advisors, initially denying that Ian Clement was taking planning decisions before being shown a letter from Clement stating otherwise.
Clement has also been deputising for the Mayor in dealings with local, national and foreign governments.
Chair of BMAC Darren Johnson AM said: “The Mayor’s manifesto promised to ‘end the culture of cronyism at City Hall’ by introducing more professional, transparent government. But one month into his administration, both clarity and transparency are sadly lacking when it comes to information about the appointment of people the Mayor is entrusting with significant responsibility for running London.”
“We are determined to lift the fog of confusion surrounding the appointment of the Mayor’s closest advisers.”
