Plans to close 40 offices were first approved by former Mayor Ken Livingstone in 2007 and were initially opposed by Boris Johnson who campaigned in the 2008 City Hall election on a pledge to halt the programme.

Emails previously released to this site under FOI laws show that both Mr Khan and his deputy were adamant the board needed to become more diverse in order to properly represent Londoners.

The new fare, which will automatically apply to anyone who uses ‘pay as you go’ with Oyster or contactless payment cards, was a key manifesto pledge of the mayor’s and will see an estimated 30m bus journeys per year become free.

Sadiq Khan will this evening pledge to be “an advocate for business” who champions the capital’s competitiveness during the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Southern, which covers London and south-east England, has been beset by delays and cancellations caused by staff shortages and industrial action over planned changes to the train conductor’s role.