London Assembly members pressure Sadiq Khan to rule out more money for the Garden Bridge
London Assembly members are pressing mayor Sadiq Khan to guarantee the capital won’t foot the bill for the Garden Bridge’s running costs.
Assembly members backed a motion 16 – 1 calling for Khan to rule out further chunks of taxpayer money being used to maintain the controversial construction.
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Former mayor Boris Johnson agreed that London would serve as guarantor for bridge project, but binding agreements have yet to be signed, and Khan has said he will only formalise the offer if he can be assured that taxpayer funds will not be needed.
The motion was tabled by Labour assembly member Tom Copley, who said: “We need to stop more public cash being frittered away on this floundering project, and I believe the mayor needs to refuse to sign the guarantee of the bridge's running costs.”
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Khan was previously an opponent of the Garden Bridge, but revealed that it would cost more to scrap than build upon coming into office.
The mayor also commissioned Labour MP Margaret Hodge to investigate procurement processes for the bridge in mid-September.