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• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

Under Standing Order 2:22 can I ask the Chair to ask whether Sir John could quickly comment on a Labour Party press briefing note on this meeting which is headed `Top Cop Savages Tory and Liberal Democrat Police Plans'. `Sir John Stevens, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, this morning condemned Conservative and Liberal Democrat policing proposals for the capital." In doing that, could you also ask Sir John " and I am sure he is aware of some concerns certainly from the Tory group about comments " whether he would also accept an invitation to meet the Tory group at...

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Is it true to say that Ken Livingstone believes in a democratic, accountable and transparent system of government? Would that be fair enough?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I am interested in when the Mayor is away. According to The Telegraph, Ken Livingstone is quoted as saying, "My delegation to Simon Fletcher is a routine process I"ve used a number of times'. Has this happened on a number of times that he's signed over his powers to you, not just when he went to Australia? And could you tell us how many times he's done that?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Four times you have been in charge in place of the Mayor?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

But at those times, if you cannot get hold of the Mayor - let's say there was some crisis - you would have to act, and you would be able to act. Let's put it that way. You would be able to act with the full powers of the Mayor and you've been in that position, four times, in the last two years?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Don't you find that people out there find this a little bit odd, that the Mayor did not delegate his powers as he could do under the Act, and as it indicates under the Act, to the Deputy Mayor?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

In the same way as when he is in the swimming pool in Millbank, the Mayor is the Executive Mayor of London. There is no difference. One of the most extraordinary things of this whole argument was when the Mayor was away and John Craig of the BBC was genuinely surprised to see a letter from the Mayor from Australia, as if he'd not known that there was such a thing as email, fax and mobile phone, let alone landline. It's bizarre. I don't know why you think somehow it's not possible to be in touch with somebody.

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

A democratic line of accountability relies on the Mayor appointing somebody, and nobody else is democratically accountable in this organisation? Curious.

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

So when he's swimming off a beach in Australia, then he is still running London from 10,000 miles away, as far as is practically possible?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Can I ask you then why, given you've been in this position four times in the last two years, that decision was not press-released, that decision was not indicated to any of the Group Leaders, and in fact that decision was uncovered through an email asking something else? Why weren't Londoners told, why weren't we told, that you had been in that position four times?