Category Archives: angela rayner

Durham Police Beergate Probe Cost Taxpayers £101,000

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The investigation into whether Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner broke Covid laws cost taxpayers £101,000, it has emerged.

A team of nine officers from Durham Constabulary’s major crime team – who normally work on cases like serious sexual assaults and murders – worked a total of 3,203 hours on the so-called “beergate” probe.

The Labour leader and his deputy were eventually cleared in July.

Durham Constabularly initially dismissed claims that Starmer had breached anti-Covid laws by eating a curry and drinking beer with Labour staff in the constituency office of City of Durham MP Mary Foy on April 30, 2021.

But they re-opened their investigation earlier this year under pressure from the Conservatives.

Starmer had said he was “confident no rules were broken” and that there was “no equivalence” between the accusations levied at him and the partygate scandal that contributed to Boris Johnson’s downfall.

In a major political gamble, both he and Rayner stated that they would stand down from their posts if they received fixed penalty notices from the police.

Durham Constabulary said their investigation found that the event was “reasonably necessary work” and therefore allowed under the rules.

A Freedom of Information request by the NationalWorld website revealed the cost to the public purse of the police probe.

The nine officers involved in the investigation were a detective superintendent, a detective inspector, a detective sergeant and six detective constables. Two other police staff members also took part.

In a statement after he was cleared, Starmer said: “I’ve always said no rules were broken when I was in Durham.

“The police have completed their investigation and agreed: there is no case to answer.

“For me, this was always a matter of principle. Honesty and integrity matter. You will always get that from me.”

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Dominic Raab Winks At Angela Rayner During Prime Minister’s Questions

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Dominic Raab has sparked ridicule after he winked at Angela Rayner as they traded blows during a fiery Commons exchange.

The deputy PM made the gesture as the two politicians stepped in to prime minister’s questions while Boris Johnson is abroad.

Politicians and pundits poked fun at the move, including Labour’s Toby Perkins who said: “I will never unsee Dominic Raab’s wink from the despatch box at Angela Rayner. I feel soiled.”

SNP MP John Nicolson added: “All feels a bit cosy between Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner what with the winks and grins. Very Westminster.”

He made the move during a heated exchange over the cost of living crisis and the recent rail strikes.

Raab told her: “If the Labour Party, if she wants to help working people, they should be clear in standing up against these militant, reckless strikes.”

He accused Rayner of having “flip-flopped” in her position on the strikes, adding: “She talks about working people. Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday?

“Where was she when the Labour front bench were joining them rather than standing up for the public?

“She was at the Glyndebourne music festival sipping champagne, listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labour Party.”

Rayner hit back: “I’ll tell them a few things about militancy, it’s this government that are acting in a militant way.

“While they should have been at the negotiating table, they were at the banqueting table getting hundreds of thousands squeezed out of their donors instead of dealing with the crisis…

“When they were asked about the absent prime minister’s plans to stick around until 2030, one (MP) opposite said he’d lost the plot.”

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Boris Johnson Accused Of Leading ‘Zombie Government’ Distracted By Partygate Row

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Boris Johnson has been accused of leading a “zombie government” which is too busy dealing with the “partygate” row to focus on running the country.

Labour pointed to a lack of progress on a number of bills as well as the government’s failure to deal with a raft of problems as proof that the PM has become paralysed while he waits for Sue Gray’s report into alleged lockdown parties in Downing Street and Whitehall to report back.

They said the online harms bill, which was due before Christmas, had still not been published, while the animal welfare bill is also delayed.

A new bill boosting employment rights, promised in the 2019 Queen’s Speech, had still not appeared, Labour said, while the levelling up white paper has also been repeatedly delayed.

A failure to act on surging energy bills or the dumping of sewage in rivers and lakes was further proof of a government in disarray, they said.

The House of Commons has also risen early on a number of occasions because MPs have had no business to deal with, most recently on Wednesday when it adjourned at 4.40pm.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “Boris Johnson and the Conservatives are failing Britain.

“This zombie government is so mired in scandal and police investigations that it cannot address the urgent issues facing our country.

“From the cost of living crisis hitting people’s pockets to the emergency in our NHS – the prime minister’s inability to govern has created gridlock in our political system.

“We are still waiting for new employment laws, legislation to protect from online harms, and a plan to address rocketing energy bills – which Labour will fix by cutting VAT and insulating our homes.

“The Tories are so compromised by the prime minister’s scandal they can’t govern at all. He needs to resign and make way for a Labour government that will offer security, prosperity and respect to the British people.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman rejected the accusation that government had ground to a halt while it waits for the Gray report and any subsequent fallout.

He said: “This is a government that is getting on with the job and is focused on the public’s priorities.”

Asked about the regular meetings Johnson is having with Conservative MPs in a bid to shore up support within the party, the spokesman said: “You would expect any prime minister to engage with his MPs and answer their questions.

“You can see from what the prime minister has done this week that it is not detracting from the work of government, both internationally in Ukraine or domestically.”

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Angela Rayner Says She Doesn’t Know What’s Going On Amid Starmer Reshuffle

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A fresh row between Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner erupted after the Labour leader launched a reshuffle while his deputy was making a major speech on Tory corruption.

The deputy leader told an audience at an Institute for Government (IfG) event that she did not “know the details” of the shadow cabinet reshuffle that was taking place because she was “concentrating on the job at hand”.

Speculation that the reshuffle was underway began on social media after the Times reported that key figures such as shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow education secretary Kate Green and shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens all faced the sack.

Instead of taking questions on the Labour party’s attempts to clean up politics, Rayner fielded multiple questions on whether she was consulted about the reshuffle and whether she thought it was the right time.

She replied: “I don’t know the details of any reshuffle, I’ve been concentrating on the job at hand.”

In an interview with Times Radio after the event, she said she had not been consulted on the reshuffle and that there was no “focus on that at the moment”.

Asked whether she would have expected to hear about it first, she replied: “I reckon that Keir would tell me first, yeah.”

However, it is understood Rayner met with Starmer after her media round in the morning and before she went to the IfG event.

In response, Rayner’s spokesperson said: “My understanding is that Keir and Angela had a short conversation in between her media round and her speech.

“She was not aware of the details of the reshuffle and she was not consulted on the reshuffle as she said herself.”

The timing and handling of the reshuffle risks reigniting the fury that erupted in the fallout of the Hartlepool by-election, in which Starmer sacked Rayner as party chair before reinstating her to other posts.

While Rayner was still speaking at the IfG event, a tit-for-tat broke out between the leadership’s two teams.

Sources close to Rayner expressed anger at Starmer’s team for its tactics and timing, with one calling it “plain offensive”.

One ally told HuffPost UK: “The incompetence is shocking. Why do this while she’s on her speech giving a planned intervention on a key Labour attack line? It makes absolutely no sense.”

A friend of Rayner said: “Trying to sack Angela and make her the scapegoat for Hartlepool was stupid. But doing a reshuffle when she’s literally on her feet giving a speech attacking the Tories for being corrupt is just plain offensive.”

And a spokesman for Rayner added: “Angela is focusing on attacking the Tories for being corrupt and setting out how she will stamp out corruption. That is her priority.”

But a source close to Starmer said it was “interesting that the wording from this friend of Angela and her spokesman is virtually identical”.

Another Labour source further questioned Rayner’s assertion that she wasn’t consulted on the reshuffle, claiming: “She’s been pushing it for months. She’s desperately trying to confect a row.”

Rayner’s spokesperson said it was was “categorically untrue that Angela was pushing for a reshuffle. She has just given a speech setting out her plans to tackle Tory corruption.”

Labour figures that are tipped for a promotion include Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, Wes Streeting, the shadow secretary of state for child poverty, and shadow schools minister Peter Kyle.

Liz Kendall, shadow minister for social care, and Alison McGoven, shadow minister for cultural industries and sports, may also get a spot on the frontbench.

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‘It’s Street Language’ – Angela Rayner Defends Calling Tories ‘Scum’

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Stefan Rousseau – PA Images via Getty Images

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner speaks at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Angela Rayner has defended calling Tories “scum” last night, saying it was her “street language”.

The deputy leader of the Labour Party launched an attack on Conservatives calling them “scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic”. 

She made the comments at a reception for Labour members in the north west of England at the party’s annual conference in Brighton.

The comments sparked a backlash from Tory MPs but Rayner stood by her words this morning, saying it was “post-watershed”.

She told Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday: “That was post-watershed as we’d say, with a group of activists at an event last night.”

Rayner said she was trying to get across in her “passionate way” the frustration and anger people feel over Boris Johnson’s comments and actions.

The senior MP said she would only apologise if Johnson said sorry for his past comments that she claimed were “homophobic, racist and misogynistic”.

Pressed on her comments, Rayner said she was talking about members of the cabinet. 

She added: “Anyone who leaves children hungry during the pandemic and can give billions of pounds to their mates on WhatsApp, I think that was pretty scummy. 

“Now that is a phrase, and let me contextualise it, it’s a phrase that you would hear very often in northern working class towns that we’d even say it jovially to other people. 

“We say it’s a scummy thing to do. And that to me is my street language as you would say – about actually it’s pretty appalling that people think that’s okay to do.”

Last night Rayner said: “I’m sick of shouting from the sidelines and I bet you lot are as well. We cannot get any worse than a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic, absolute vile…Banana Republic, vile, nasty, Etonian…piece of scum.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the tirade was “not language that I would have used”.

He told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show it was a matter for Rayner whether she apologised but said he would speak to her about it.

“Angela and I take different approaches and that’s not language that I would use,” he said.

Asked if she should apologise, Starmer said: “That’s a matter for Angela… but I would not have used those words. I will talk to Angela about it later on.”

Labour former shadow chancellor John McDonnell rowed in behind Rayner, saying: “We’ve all been there, late at night, getting very angry about what’s going on. What I like about Angie Rayner is that she’s human.

“She may well drop herself in it, just as I have time and time again, but she’s human and she has human emotions and when you get angry about something sometimes the language that you use might be over the top.”

Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

Starmer was quizzed about Rayner’s comments on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

However, transport secretary Grant Shapps called on Rayner to apologise and said her comments were “absolutely appalling”.

The cabinet minister said: “There’s no place in public life for that sort of language, that sort of behaviour. I saw that she had described herself as being somebody who wanted to see a kinder kind of politics back in 2019. I’m very sorry that seems to have disappeared.”

He added: “I think it would be befitting if she actually just apologised, rather than talked around the subject.”

Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke told HuffPost UK: “It once again shows that Labour have nothing to offer the north other than bitter and nasty comments against those who northern voters elected over an out of touch Labour Party, who still show that instead of recognising the issues that people want addressed, would rather stoop to the actions of the defeated play ground bully. Labour continue to show that the true party of the workers is the Conservative Party.”

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly also hit back, tweeting: “I’m sure this went down well in the room but when voters look at the party that has had both female PMs, with half of the great offices of state filled by women, half by Bame, most diverse government, more gay ministers than Labour ever had etc they’ll know she’s talking crap.”

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Labour Would Give Employees Legal Right To Work From Home

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Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has said all workers should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of home working even once the Covid pandemic was over.

A Labour government would give employees a legal right to work from home, deputy leader Angela Rayner has announced.

Under a new package of reforms, all staff would also also be granted a “right to switch off” to avoid being contacted via phone or email by bosses outside working hours.

Rayner said that Labour would place on duty on employers to provide “flexible working” from day one of employment, where there was no reason a job could not be done with varying hours or remotely.

The shadow secretary for work said all workers should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of home working even once the Covid pandemic was over.

Home workers would also be encouraged to join trade unions to allow them to continue to collectively organise on terms and conditions of work.

The right to flexible working – including flexible hours, staggered hours and flexibility around childcare and caring responsibilities – was aimed at ensuring “work fits around people’s lives instead of dictating their lives”, she said.

Among the changes the party wants to see is flexibility around school runs for parents, as well as childcare during school holidays.

Labour is also calling for the end of “one-sided flexibility” that currently benefits bosses, so all workers have secure employment and regular and predictable working.

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Commuters, most of them continuing to wear face masks, at Waterloo station

Unions would be granted greater access to workplaces, including to home workers, t”o ensure fair flexibility for all is delivered through a collective voice for all staff, including those who are working flexibly or remotely”.

“Labour will make flexible working a force for good so that everyone is able to enjoy the benefits of flexible working, from a better work-life balance to less time commuting and more time with their family,” Rayner said.

“The ‘new normal’ after this pandemic must mean a new deal for all working people based on flexibility, security and strengthened rights at work.

“The right to flexible working will change our economy and the world of work for the better, stop women losing out at work or even dropping out of the workforce altogether, end the sexist assumption of Dad being at work in the office and Mum looking after the kids at home and improve the lives of millions of workers.”

Boris Johnson pledged in the 2019 Conservative manifesto to make flexible working the “default” but appears to have shelved the plans along with an Employment Rights Bill.

Last month the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “We’ve asked people to work from home where they can during the pandemic, but there are no plans to make this permanent or introduce a legal right to work from home…It is important to stress that there are no plans to make working from home the default, or introduce a legal right to work from home.”

The TUC has found that 82% of workers want to work flexibly (87% for women workers), whereas the most popular form of flexible working, flexi-time, is unavailable to over half of the UK workforce.

Some 30% of flexible working requests are turned down because staff do not have a statutory right to work variable hours. The UK ranked 24th out of 25 countries on how often job demands interfere with family life.

Two-thirds of working mothers lack childcare during these summer holidays, and before Covid only 3.6% of eligible fathers took shared parental leave.

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Keir Starmer’s Commons Aide Carolyn Harris Quits Amid Briefing Row

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Carolyn Harris

Keir Starmer’s parliamentary aide has quit amid claims that she spread groundless rumours about fellow MPs’ private lives.

Carolyn Harris resigned from her post of parliamentary private secretary (PPS) after a formal complaint was made by a senior MP about her conduct, HuffPost UK has been told.

The departure of the Swansea East MP, who is also deputy leader of the Welsh Labour Party, was seen as the latest fallout from a bitter briefing war over Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle and his decision to “sack” deputy leader Angela Rayner as party chair and campaigns chief.

In a statement issued by Starmer’s office, she said: “It has been the proudest moment of my career to co-chair the campaign that saw Keir Starmer elected as Labour leader, and to serve as his PPS for the past year.

“Stepping back from this role is the right thing at this moment, coming as it does after some trying personal times and an ever-increasing workload as deputy leader of Welsh Labour. I have enjoyed every minute, and look forward to supporting Keir the best way I can in the months ahead.”

It is understood that Harris, who has made no secret of her combative approach to the leader’s critics within the party, sparked a backlash with recent briefings about shadow cabinet ministers’ alleged disloyalty and about MPs’ personal lives.

The Times, which first broke the news that she was stepping down, alleged that Harris had spread “salacious rumours” about colleagues.

One frontbencher told HuffPost UK: “She’s been stirring it about shadow cabinet members, among the PLP, for weeks. She’s been spreading it about in the [Commons] tea room, everywhere. And she’s finally been caught red handed this weekend.”

“The job of PPS is to be the ears and eyes of the leader, not the mouth,” one senior MP said. “She was playing too high a profile role, throwing her weight around, interfering rather than feeding back what the PLP felt. Listen, assess, report, that’s the job.”

Another said: “It felt like Keir wasn’t fully aware of what she was up to, or at least I hope he wasn’t. It would be much worse if he sanctioned it.”

Starmer is now on the hunt for a new PPS. “We need to stop thinking of PPSs as some new intaker, and maybe appoint someone who’s been around a bit,” one backbencher said. “Amiable, clubbable, friends with everybody, that’s what you want.”

Relations between the Labour leader and his deputy soured badly on Saturday night when she learned from the Sunday Times of a plan to fire her from her campaigns role.

At one point, Rayner was tempted to go public with her anger at being apparently made a scapegoat for Labour’s poor local elections performance in parts of England.

Starmer used the Queen’s Speech debate in the Commons to joke about his recent showdown with Rayner over her move to a new role, saying a “black belt” in martial arts would be useful for “the next shadow cabinet meeting”.

Boris Johnson jibed that Rayner, whose authority in the party was enhanced by several new roles including shadow first secretary of state, was a “lioness” who was likely to become hungrier “the more titles he feeds her”.

Sitting opposite, she gestured that she had her eyes on the Tory leader, and later wrote on Twitter: “The only title I’m hungry for, Boris Johnson, is Deputy Prime Minister.”

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Keir Starmer To Reshuffle Labour Shadow Cabinet On Sunday

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Keir Starmer was reshuffling his shadow cabinet on Sunday as the fallout from Labour’s dismal election results continued.

Starmer has already removed deputy leader Angela Rayner as party chair and campaigns coordinator, after Labour lost control of a host of councils and the “red wall” parliamentary seat of Hartlepool for the first time since its inception in the 1970s.

The Labour leader has faced a backlash from senior figures for apparently sacking Rayner.

Allies insist she has been offered another job in the shadow cabinet but they could not say what it would be, with Starmer in the process of reshuffling his top team on Sunday.

Reports suggest shadow communities secretary Steve Reed could be in line to replace Rayner. 

Ian Murray, the shadow secretary for Scotland, and MP Chris Bryant have also been tipped for promotion. 

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds is meanwhile among those reported to be in line for a demotion. 

There has also been criticism from some sections of the party of Starmer’s key aide Jenny Chapman, the former MP for Darlington.

Speaking to Times Radio on Sunday, Murray insisted Rayner had not been sacked and that Starmer wants to move her to a “much more prominent role” so Labour can benefit from her “authentic voice”.

But after headlines that Rayner had been sacked sparked outrage from some in the party, Murray admitted: “Communications over the last 24 hours have not been top-quality.” 

Pool via Getty Images

Starmer and Rayner on the campaign trail on Wednesday in Birmingham

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who has signalled he is ready to take over from Starmer if asked, said of Rayner’s sacking: “I can’t support this.

“This is straightforwardly wrong if it’s true.”

Members of former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s team, who come from the left of the party, were among those to criticise the move to “scapegoat” the deputy leader.

Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott called it “baffling” while John McDonnell labelled it a “huge mistake”.

McDonnell, a former shadow chancellor, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “When the leader of the party on Friday said he takes responsibility for the election result in Hartlepool in particular and then scapegoats Angela Rayner, I think many of us feel that is unfair, particularly as we all know actually that Keir’s style of leadership is that his office controls everything.

“It is very centralised and he controlled the campaign.”

In a further sign of the splits in the party, Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson urged Starmer to dilute the influence of party members and “hard left factions” linked to train unions.

He said Starmer was set to embark on a “serious review” of Labour policy.

“I also believe that he needs to to look at how the party is organised, how it represents the genuine grassroots of the party and reflects the genuine views and values of Labour voters across the country in all the nations and the regions of the country,” Mandelson told Times Radio

“The idea that the Labour Party and its policies and its outlook can be driven disproportionately frankly by a mixture of grassroots members in London and the south-east and the sort of hard left factions that are attached to trade unions – that has got to go, we have got to change.

“Party reform therefore I think is an essential part of what Keir has got to take on next.”

As well as undertaking a reshuffle, Starmer has hired Gordon Brown’s former chief pollster Deborah Mattinson – who has written a book about why Labour lost the so-called “red wall” at the 2019 general election – as director of strategy.

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Angela Rayner Sacked As Party Chair And Campaigns Chief By Keir Starmer

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Jacob King – PA Images via Getty Images

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner has been sacked by Keir Starmer as the Labour Party’s chair and campaigns co-ordinator, Labour sources have confirmed. 

Starmer’s shock decision to strip his deputy leader of both strategic roles came after Labour lost a slew of council seats and the key ‘red wall’ seat of Hartlepool.

It is understood Rayner will be offered a different job. The demotion does not affect Rayner’s role as deputy leader, which is elected. 

A Labour source said: “Keir said he was taking full responsibility for the result of the elections – and he said we need to change.

“That means change how we run our campaigns in the future. Angela will continue to play a senior role in Keir’s team.”

Reports suggest shadow communities secretary Steve Reed could be in line to replace Rayner. 

Ian Murray, the shadow secretary for Scotland, and MP Chris Bryant have also been tipped for promotion. 

Stefan Rousseau – PA Images via Getty Images

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer leaving his north London home following the result in the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election. Picture date: Friday May 7, 2021. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)

Removing Rayner from her campaign roles has divided opinion among activists and MPs. 

One former Labour staffer: “This Angela decision is probably one of the stupidest political decisions a leaders office has made in a very long time.” 

Others said Starmer was avoiding blame for defeat, with former shadow chancellor John McDonnell calling the move “a cowardly avoidance of responsibility”. 

Another Labour source took aim at Jenny Chapman, Starmer’s political director. 

“It’s absolutely crazy,” they said. “This sacking isn’t about Angela. It’s all about Jenny.”

But one Labour MP told HuffPost UK they backed the decision

They said: “I’m delighted Keir’s done this. She needs to take her share of the blame for the campaign she was in charge of. What was the slogan of our campaign? There wasn’t one.

“Her presentations to the Parliamentary Labour Party on the campaign updates were streams of consciousness. She’s also been making life difficult for David Evans [party general secretary]. It had to stop.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.

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Boris Johnson Accused Of Breaking Ministerial Code With ‘Political’ Attack On Sadiq Khan

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Stefan RousseauPA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (Covid-19). Picture date: Monday April 5, 2021.

Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules and misled the public when he launched on “unprompted political attack” on Sadiq Khan using the government’s new £2.6m Downing Street press room, Labour has said. 

The prime minister was reaching the end of a televised briefing on the Covid pandemic when he made false claims about the London mayor and Transport for London (TfL) budget. 

Johnson, Khan’s predecessor at City Hall, claimed he left TfL’s finances in “robust, good order”, and the current mayor had blown a “black hole” in the budget with a fares freeze. 

The complete collapse in passenger numbers since Covid hit, however, has seen government agree a £1.6bn bailout in May, followed by a £1.8bn deal in November.

A TfL report published a month before Johnson left office in 2016 also showed TfL had a nominal debt of £9.1bn.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has now written to cabinet secretary Simon Case calling for him to investigate and for the PM to apologise. 

She alleges Johnson broke the ministerial code by using government resources – the Downing Street press room – for political campaigning during an election period. 

It comes ahead of local elections in May, including at City Hall. 

The code, which governs ministers’ conduct, states: “Official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of party political material”.

Rayner writes: “The attack was political in nature, unprompted, and entirely unrelated to either the topic of the press conference or the question the prime minister was asked.” 

The deputy leader also hit out at Johnson’s decision not to sack home secretary Priti Patel after a formal investigation found evidence that she bullied civil servants. 

Ethics adviser Alex Allan quit after Johnson ruled Patel should stay in post. 

Rayner said: “The ministerial code, by which government ministers are bound, clearly states that official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of party political material.

“This includes the prime minister’s new media briefing room, which cost the British taxpayer £2.6 million.

“The prime minister has a lot of experience with the ministerial code – his home secretary was found to have breached it after bullying staff, prompting his independent advisor on ethics and ministerial standards to resign.

“The British people would rightly not expect a prime minister who has spent so much first-hand experience of dealing with matters relating to the Code to be so blatant in flouting it during a pre-election period.”  

Rayner states that in the four years Sadiq Khan was mayor before Covid hit, he reduced the operating deficit of TfL, left by the previous mayor, by 71%. 

But Johnson said during the press briefing on Monday: “As for the finances of TfL I must respectfully remind you that I left them in robust, good order. It is not through any fault of my own the current Labour mayor decided to blow them all on an irresponsible fares policy. 

“We are doing our best to help them out and we will continue to do so. But I’m afraid you have to look at some of the decisions that were taken by the current Labour mayor as well.

“I hesitate to make a point like that but since you rightly draw attention to the fact I’m a proud former mayor of London I do think we could look at the way TfL is being run.” 

The Cabinet Office confirmed the letter had been received.

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