London minister hits out at Sadiq Khan for ‘mixed messages’ during Covid
Boris Johnson’s London minister has hit out at Sadiq Khan for sending “mixed messages” and for being two-faced in his dealings with the government.
Paul Scully said today that Khan had “worked collaboratively” with the government behind closed doors during the Covid pandemic, but that he too often then goes on to attack the Prime Minister in the media moments later.
The London minister told a London First webinar today that this created “mixed messages”, which “clearly affects people’s behaviour and the certainty that businesses are crying out for”.
“In a lot of the work we’ve been doing behind the scenes…the boroughs, the mayor’s office and the government have worked pretty well collaboratively,” Scully said.
“What is really frustrating is when the mayor then might be sitting on a letter, that he knows he’s got in his back pocket, which goes via the press to government the day after.
“What’s playing out in public is not always what happens behind the scenes.”
In another jab at the mayor, Scully also called the Because I’m a Londoner campaign run by City Hall’s London and Partners organisation “anodyne”.
Khan’s relationship with the government has been seen as heavily strained, with the mayor often left out of Johnson’s emergency Cobra meetings on Covid.
The conditions imposed on central government’s bail out of Transport for London (TfL) were also seen as particularly onerous, with some claiming they were an attempt to shift power away from City Hall.
Khan, a former Labour frontbencher in parliament, has often been critical of government during the pandemic.
He has been critical of the government’s struggles in implementing its test, track and trace programme, while also recently calling for a review of England’s 10pm hospitality curfew.
Responding to Scully’s comments, a City Hall spokesperson said: “The minister should focus on fixing the government’s shambolic handling of the pandemic and its economic consequences rather than complaining about the mayor doing his job by standing up for Londoners and speaking out on their behalf.”