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• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

I really want to pick up on what Roger Evans has just said. You mentioned the inevitability of disagreements between professionals; absolutely, that is par for the course. What I wanted to know was, apart from when your contract was renewed a year ago, were lawyers involved in the achievement of this recent settlement?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

There are a couple of people here who are very pleased to hear that, at least. Finally, you said during your opening comments to us that you felt a challenge for the future of TfL would be to develop what you called a more reliable system of finance. What do you mean by that? Is it really the case that this is at the root of your falling out with the Mayor, the performance of the finance unit within TfL?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

I am interested to know what made you change your mind compared with a year ago and now. What has happened?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

Do you regret the timing of this, coming at the same time as we have this large fare increase? Many Londoners are upset with the 10% or more increase at the same time as the sums of money that you are being provided with are being highlighted. Was that not bad timing?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

Another issue which there seems to have been a disagreement over has been Battersea Bridge. Can I congratulate TfL on the reopening of the bridge earlier this week? However, you told the board of TfL shortly after the incident had happened that you felt it might not be worthwhile spending the money on actually doing that piece of work and it would be best to close the bridge because of the amount it would cost and to discourage road traffic using it. Was the Mayor right to overrule you on that occasion?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

I do not want to rake over answers you have given already, but at the last Mayor's Question Time, the Mayor described that it was asserted ' I think it was an Evening Standard story ' that there had been a bust-up between you and him about the fate or future or proposals of Jay Walder (Managing Director, Finance and Planning, TfL). He described that as being rubbish and piffle. Would you use similar words to describe that or was the Mayor being less than open with us on that matter?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

Is there a fundamental disagreement between yourself and Mr Walder on an aspect of strategy which was instrumental in your decision to hang up your boots?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

I have one other question about your management style. Perhaps you can put the record straight on this, because the press can be very wounding. There have been allegations on the one hand that you are a dreadful control freak and that nothing has happened in TfL without you blocking it or running it over your desk; on the other hand, there have been various scurrilous allegations that in fact you have been almost negligent in your role and are barely in the office, that you have a cardboard cut-out there, for example, and nothing really happens. Can you clarify...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

I understand what you have said, and I need not recap it. This is a challenging job but a lot has been done, but there is still more to do. There is much that you could be judged proud of and you are clearly anxious to be still in the policy and the strategic decisions, so to move to a consultant role was a slightly unnatural one for you. I assume that was your state of mind when you signed the new contract: that you were still up for it and ready to go.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 18 January 2006

When you decided that you would leave this particular role, did you just go into the Mayor and say, `I am going'? Was there a negotiation?