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Mayor suspends funds row adviser | |
(20 minutes later) | |
London's mayor has suspended his race adviser after a series of allegations of financial irregularities. | |
Mayor Ken Livingstone said he had taken the step after Lee Jasper himself asked for the newspaper allegations to be referred to the police to investigate. | |
An internal inquiry had already cleared Mr Jasper of any wrongdoing. | |
The allegations concern money paid by the London Development Agency (LDA) - the mayor's business arm - to a number of black organisations. | The allegations concern money paid by the London Development Agency (LDA) - the mayor's business arm - to a number of black organisations. |
One of them was Brixton Base which is run by Errol Walters, a friend and close associate of Mr Jasper. | One of them was Brixton Base which is run by Errol Walters, a friend and close associate of Mr Jasper. |
'Unsatisfactory report' | |
Brixton Base received £280,000 from the LDA to pay rent, even though the LDA is its landlord. It also received £230,000 to stage three short courses in arts. | |
An internal LDA inquiry found that Mr Jasper had acted legally. | An internal LDA inquiry found that Mr Jasper had acted legally. |
The report said it did not have the power to look at claims private individuals took money from organisations to which the LDA had given funds. | |
It has referred these allegations to the police to investigate. | |
But the London Assembly described the report as "unsatisfactory" and has called for an independent inquiry. | |
The Evening Standard should immediately take any evidence it claims to have to the police or stop making these false allegations London mayor Ken Livingstone | |
On Friday, Mr Jasper asked for allegations made in the Evening Standard newspaper to be referred to the police. | |
"I am being prevented from clearing my name, black organisations across London are being weakened by a systematic campaign in the Evening Standard from seeking funds, and a deliberate attempt is being made to divert attention from the real issues confronting London at the Mayoral election," he said. | |
"This is being done deliberately and consciously - far from seeking clarity, the Evening Standard for 10 weeks has been running stories of false allegations against me without taking alleged evidence to the police." | |
Mr Livingstone stressed the police had not approached him and that he thought the investigation would clear his race adviser. | |
"The Evening Standard should immediately take any evidence it claims to have to the police or stop making these false allegations - in the good old phrase, 'put up or shut up'. | |
"In agreeing Lee's request I have also made the extremely difficult decision that, like any GLA officer subject to a police investigation, Lee Jasper will be suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation." |