Message from Mike Tuffrey on the row over appointments to the London Fire Authority

11.06.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 19th Jun 2007

Late last Friday (15 June) the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, launched an extraordinary attack on the independence of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, the body which runs the Fire Brigade, by seeking to remove his political opponents. He is trying to block the reappointment of all Liberal Democrat members and all bar one Conservative, while allowing Labour names to proceed. This would have given Labour a majority at the Authority's AGM due on Thursday (21 June). Yesterday counsel separately acting for both the Greater London Authority and Lfepa advised that this is unlawful.

The Mayor's professed grounds are the need for greater diversity. However the gender and ethnic balance on Lfepa is similar to that of Transport for London and the London Development Agency, both bodies wholly appointed by the Mayor himself. Lfepa comprises nine members appointed from London Assembly members and eight from among local councillors.

Mike Tuffrey, LibDem leader on the London Assembly and outgoing leader on the fire authority, said:

"The Mayor is again demonstrating his dictatorial tendencies, showing scant regard for democracy and independent scrutiny. At a time when central government is considering devolving more powers to London, this outrageous power grab confirms that Liberal Democrats are right to insist on proper checks and balances. The Mayor's political game playing is not just unlawful. It also damages the services Londoners rely upon and violates an important principle: on bodies which are politically proportional by statute, it is not for one party to dictate who other parties should nominate.

"LibDems are making nominations based on the needs of the authority and the skills of available members. Our Assembly group is balanced, with two women and three men. The current councillor nominee, Ed Butcher, replaced a women, Anne Gallop, who retired last year after serving more than six years in post. We have a good track record on these issues. While this year's team does comprise three men, only a few years ago the entire LibDem team were women. We will review the position after next year's elections, based on the needs and availability at that time."