Assuming this news release from the previous Mayor is accurate, it appears Boris’s wasted money account has notched up another £7m.
Boris Johnson has been forced to give £7 million back to Venezuela following his decision to cancel the Agreement between Ken Livingstone and the Venezuelan government which exchanged cheap diesel for technical advice and assistance from London, it has been revealed today.
Under the Agreement the poorest Londoners on Income Support received half-price bus and tram fares and, in exchange, London was advising on how to improve city management in key areas like public transport and protection of the environment in Venezuela. The deal was of mutual benefit to both parties as Venezuela is one of the world’s biggest oil producers, while London is one of its most modern and advanced cities.
One of Boris Johnson’s first actions when he took action as London Mayor was to announce that he would end the agreement and he immediately cancelled visits by technical experts to Venezuela planned assist on urgent measures to improve the transport system and protection of the environment.
He announced that the last half price travel permits for Londoners on London buses and trams would end six months after the Agreement ends on 20 August.
Now in a shock development it has been revealed that Boris Johnson’s decision to break the agreement will not only double fares for tens of thousands of Londoners but it will also cost London £7 million pounds, nearly half the annual value of the deal, which will have to be paid back to Venezuela.
It is revealing that the Mayor’s administration decided to break the news, with a statement by an official spokesperson of Transport for London, Matt Brown, on Sunday in the Venezuelan newspaper El Universel, rather than making any statement to Londoners or the media in the capital.
Former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone said:
“Boris Johnson’s ideologically-motivated move to cut off technical assistance to Venezuela will cost London a cool £7 million as well as doubling fares for some of the poorest people in the capital, when energy prices are at their highest levels in history. Boris Johnson talks about saving money but, in reality, he is already costing Londoners a fortune.
“It is remarkable that he did not even inform Londoners that they will have to pay £7 million for his policy and instead leaked the news in Latin America.”
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
He’s playing exactly the kind of politics that the Right are always accusing the Left and liberals of – except no-one is benefiting from it.