Why is the Mayor spending public money on re-election spin?

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 10th Oct 2007

Liberal Democrats at the London Assembly have discovered that the Mayor Ken Livingstone has asked the Metropolitan Police Authority for £400,000 as a contribution towards the £800,000 cost of an advertising campaign. The advertising campaign is designed to tell Londoners how safe they are.

Transport for London will contribute the other £400,000 to the campaign which quotes the increase in the number of officers on the capital's streets.

The Mayor of London sets the budget of the Metropolitan Police Authority, which is passed on to the Met, and is Chair of the board at Transport for London.

Mike Tuffrey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats at the London Assembly said:

"At a time when the Mayor is asking the police to find £100million worth of savings, why is he then telling them to spend money on his re-election spin?"