The London Assembly yesterday voted to remove to Brian Cooke from the role of Chairman of London TravelWatch after it found he was in breach of his terms and conditions on employment.
Cooke was removed from his post after backing Boris Johnson’s campaign to become Mayor – TravelWatch is a politically independent body and funded by the Assembly.
In February Johnson’s election campaign announced Cooke would be appearing at the launch of his transport manifesto however when questioned by MayorWatch about this he later dropped out.
In April Cooke issued a statement endorsing Johnson and attacking Ken Livingstone’s record on transport and branded plans to extend the Freedom Pass as a “mad idea” – apparently unaware that this was a key pledge by both Johnson and Livingstone.
Labour’s Transport spokesperson Val Shawcross said, “The committee took the view that Brian Cooke’s reputation as an impartial representative of London’s travelling public had been irreversibly damaged.”
“It is sad for Brian that he had to leave in these circumstances but by making his political views public he compromised Travelwatch and seriously breached the conditions of his appointment. The committee really had no other choice.”
