News from London Assembly Labour

Banned councillor: London Labour leader calls on Mayor to act

Len Duvall, Labour’s leader on the London Assembly, has called on Boris Johnson to remove disgraced councillor Bertha Joseph from London’s fire authority. Under questioning yesterday the Mayor again refused to take any action against councillor Joseph despite her being banned from office in Brent for six months.

Bertha Joseph was found in October to have brought her office into disrepute after spending almost £1,000 of charitable donations on clothes for herself. Her appeal was rejected by a tribunal over two weeks ago. But Mayor Boris Johnson has so far refused to act, saying this morning he needed to take legal advice.

Len Duvall said: “This is a question of the Mayor’s judgement, morals and integrity. While his party leader claims he wants to clean up politics, Boris Johnson has presided over a long line of discredited and sleazy appointments. This councillor has been found guilty, lost an appeal and should go immediately. If she’s not fit to sit on a local council, she’s certainly not fit to sit on London’s fire authority – whatever the Mayor may think.”

Navin Shah, vice chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, has written to Boris Johnson calling on him to remove Bertha Joseph. The letter states: “I see Councillor Joseph’s continuing presence as an insult to the LFEPA Members and to the firefighters and other staff. At a time when politicians are keen to drive out any form of cronyism and sleaze, allowing Councillor Joseph to hold any public position is wholly wrong.

“As she has demonstrated a personal failure to uphold the highest standards of conduct expected of elected Members and has refused to stand down voluntarily, I would urge you to exercise your powers to remove Councillor Joseph from her position on this Authority with immediate effect.”

Under questioning from Len Duvall during Mayor’s question time at City Hall this morning refused numerous times to take any action against councillor Joseph. You can view a webcast of the meeting here.

The Mayor is no stranger to scandal-hit appointments:

June 2008
James McGrath – forced to resign after saying African-Caribbean Londoners could “go home” if they didn’t like Boris Johnson

July 2008
Ray Lewis – forced to quit over allegations of improper conduct to his parishioners, financial irregularities and lying about being a magistrate

Dec 2008
David Ross – forced to resign after using company shares to secure a personal loan and recently investigated on charges of assault against a woman

June 2009
Ian Clement – sacked after lying about using a GLA credit card to pay for meals with his lover, groceries and repairs to his Jaguar

Ongoing
Veronica Wadley – interviewed and selected by the Mayor despite being rejected by his own appointment panel. The appointment was blocked by the secretary of state on the grounds it breached sleaze and cronyism rules

Other news from London Assembly Labour

• Ken: "This morning's tube delays are completely unacceptable" - 10 February 2012
• Boris Johnson's comments are ill-judged and offensive - 9 February 2012
• Ken answers his critics about his support for LGBT rights - 8 February 2012