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• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

My final question is about the quality of advice that the Mayor gets. I know this has been probed a little bit earlier, but I think we all know that, yourself excluded, the Mayor's advisors include a range of people who have political baggage behind them. How do you ensure that the Mayor gets good advice, notwithstanding thatadvisors may carry with them prejudices that help to inform their advice?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I think, to all intents and purposes, your average Londoner would assume that you are, with great respect to my colleague the Deputy Mayor, effectively a deputy mayor of London. Do you imagine there could be circumstances where a different Simon Fletcher or a different mayor might employ someone in your position who would have a more public persona and would, for example, be interviewed and speak on behalf of the Mayor to TV cameras?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

You are in an interesting position in British politics. I think you are almost uniquely a heartbeat away from redundancy, in your position. It's a nice sound bite.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Do you envisage following up an earlier line of questioning that you might resign from your position in order to enable you to campaign for the Mayor's re-election?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

There is a well established civil service culture in the UK apparently which is'

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Clearly you are not ruling out the possibility that you might resign in order to assist his campaign for re-election?

• Reference: 2001/0073-1
• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 11 July 2001

Without serious resources, is not strategic urban design a waste of time? .

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 11 July 2001

If I could take the liberty of asking a question I asked of witnesses at the SDS. For probably a majority of Londoners the key views nowadays are the London skyline as you steam down the M11, or the site at Canary Wharf as you come down the A20 off the M25, so they are very distant views and they are very much car driven views, and I think many people would think that they are enhanced by high buildings and the more sort of long distance skyline. Do you have a view on that?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 11 July 2001

I know that you and I have a common interest in the Thames Gateway area, but it is a specific follow up I think to Meg's question. I believe your partnership may have been tendering for work within the Gateway area and that it may have been commissioned to do work by one of the major landowners within the Thames Gateway area. Now to an unsophisticated Londoner like myself, there is prima facie a problem there, because the Gateway is the key regeneration area in the Mayor's strategy. You are the Mayor's key advisor on regenerational planning in that area...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 11 July 2001

Just to follow up quickly, I have a feeling that, as much as I admire your work, that maybe you cannot actually do this job as the Mayor's advisor. Is it the case that your firm has been retained to do work at Canary Wharf for example? Were you retained after your appointment by the Mayor as his advisor?