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London Mayor Sadiq Khan accused Boris Johnson of telling a “blatant lie” to the House of Commons after the Prime Minister accused him of bankrupting Transport for London.
The mayor is seeking a £ 4.9bn deal over the next 18 months to keep the capital’s metro and bus services running with revenue collapsing due to Covid.
Attacking Khan in the House of Commons, Johnson told MPs: “It was the Labor Mayor of London who bankrupted TfL’s finances,” and went on to say that any plans to raise fees or extend the zone of Congestion pricing was “totally up to him”.
But Khan accused him of lying and trying to impose a “triple hit” of “punitive” charges on Londoners when the “only cause” of TfL’s financial problems was the pandemic.
He tweeted:
The prime minister has lied to the House of Commons.
Before Covid, it was fixing its mess at TfL, reducing the deficit by 71% since 2016.
Covid-19 is the sole cause of TfL’s challenges. The prime minister wants to increase fares, C-Charge and taxes, and end free rides for children and older Londoners. https://t.co/EcVNVSSWjp
– Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) October 21, 2020
TfL said passenger numbers and revenue were down 70% year-on-year due to the pandemic.
The standoff also came as TfL confirmed the latest death of a bus driver from coronavirus, bringing the number of deaths among workers during the pandemic to 45.
In a statement, Khan also accused Johnson of trying to recoup losses through an increase in subway and bus fares, an extension of the congestion charge and a higher city tax in exchange for bailout funds. This was “punitive,” he said.
“London’s net contribution to the Treasury of £ 38.8 billion last year means Londoners and businesses in the capital are not only paying for transport services in the capital, they are also heavily subsidizing those elsewhere. from the country”.
It is a repeat of the political clash during the shutdown when the government withheld a £ 1.6bn bailout package until the mayor agreed to an increase in the congestion charge and an extension of the ultra-low emissions zone charge until the weekend.
Khan said Johnson’s attack was a “vindictive” political stunt designed to weaken Labor in London ahead of next year’s mayoral elections.
He told a Transport for London board meeting: “Now is not the time for the government to play political parties or be vindictive with London.
“This is too serious a matter. We need to do what is right for the city and the people of the city who have endured so much during this crisis.
This month, Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps wrote Khan outlining a long list of conditions before agreeing to a six-month bailout.
According to a letter seen by the Financial Times, he threatened to take control of TfL and run it from Whitehall. “We will take standby legislative powers that will allow us, if necessary, to run TfL,” Shapps wrote.
The threat to undermine the mayor of London is seen in some quarters as part of an attempt to exclude Labor leaders from Covid planning.
Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon said: “It is extremely worrying that despite repeated requests, the government is offering only one package of funds for Transport for London, on such punitive terms.”
Khan asked ministers to reconsider their “draconian and ill-advised” proposals.
A Johnson spokesperson said that TfL’s debt amounted to £ 12 billion and that it now spent £ 400 million a year in interest on the debt, making it “effectively bankrupt.”
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