If the Mayor believes Lee Jasper has done no wrong, he is wasting police time - Tuffrey

10.38.00am GMT Fri 15th Feb 2008

Commenting on the suspension of Lee Jasper and the referral of allegations made against him to the police, Leader of the London Assembly Liberal Democrats, Mike Tuffrey, said:

"The Mayor has been adamant that Lee Jasper is innocent of all accusations brought against him in the media. If this is the case, why refer these allegations to the police? If the Mayor is certain that Lee Jasper has not acted illegally, surely he is wasting police time with this matter.

"The London Assembly has been demanding evidence on these allegations for a long time. Yet it was only last week that the London Assembly received over 900 pages of documents requested. These must be examined before we can conduct a proper scrutiny with Lee Jasper and other Mayoral adviser colleagues.

"The Mayor accuses the London Assembly of drawing out this process, but I have to wonder whether it is not the Mayor and Lee Jasper who are playing the media.

"We received no warning and had to find out about Lee Jasper's suspension through a press release. Again, this proves that the Mayor is unwilling to open his office up for scrutiny unless it is by his rules."

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