Mayors aide must go!
Lee Jasper’s position has been described as “untenable” by all three opposition parties as damaging emails revealed the extent of his involvement in the City Hall scandal.
The internal London Development Agency emails were released to the London Assembly as it investigates the LDA’s funding of 13 suspect projects run by Mr Jasper – Mayor Ken Livingstone’s race adviser – or his friends.
The Assembly inquiry was triggered after the Standard identified a number of projects run by friends of Mr Jasper which have been paid at least £3.3 million by City Hall but have produced little, if anything, to show for it.
Assembly members were questioning Mr Livingstone and senior officials of the LDA over the funding scandal today at a special session. Emails released to assembly members show that:
• LDA officials did not want to fund many of the projects but were pressured into doing so by Mr Jasper.
• Mr Jasper repeatedly pestered the LDA to provide more and more funding and prevented it from acting against one project even when it acted “illegally”, according to one email.
• Hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money was paid to the projects without any paperwork to show what it was for.
• At least £137,000 was paid without even an LDA sign-off.
• A £300,000 contract was awarded to one of Mr Jasper’s friends without the normal tender process or competition.
• LDA officers said that one of their board members, whose organisations received more than £1 million from the agency, had “a conflict of pecuniary interest” and may have breached its code of conduct.
The emails contradict claims by Mr Jasper that he did “not get involved” in funding decisions for the projects or have any “day-to-day involvement” with them. They also contradict a claim by Mr Livingstone that there was a “full audit trail” for all the suspect projects.
Brian Paddick, the Lib-Dem candidate for mayor, said: “This is a very sad day, not just for Lee Jasper but for the black community in London. From the evidence that I have seen it appears to me that Mr Jasper’s position is untenable and he should resign.”
Damian Hockney, assembly member for the One London party, said: “The key question the Mayor needs to answer today is why did he tell us there was a full audit trail for these projects. We can now definitively say that that is simply untrue. If Ken was lying, he should stand down. If Lee Jasper lied to him, Jasper should be sacked.”
The British National Party’s People’s Champion – Richard Barnbrook had this to say;
“For the betterment of politics it should not become personal wrangling. However, in this case I feel I have the higher ground in saying that Mr Jasper is an odious man, and to quote Mr Darcus Howe:- “He is hugely unpopular”.
What right does Jasper have to hound an individual such as Simone Clarke out of the job as the principal dancer of the English National Ballet, for simply being a member of a lawful political party. This man has to go.
Mayor Livingstone have the strength of conviction and Sack Jasper.”
