LONDON (UK) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had made the capital’s transport system bankrupt as the government looked to force him to sell off land and reduce operating costs as part of a financial COVID-19 bailout.
Hailing from the Labour Party, Khan has sought a 5.7 billion pound ($7.4 billion) package for Transport for London (TfL) in the wake of commuters deserting trains and buses during the spread of the virus.
The mayor said in return, the government was insisting on higher fares and other revenue-garnering mechanisms such as enhancing the size of the congestion zone which mandates drivers to pay a fee to drive in the city.
“The current mayor of London had effectively bankrupted TfL before coronavirus had even hit,” Johnson told lawmakers.
“Any expansion of the congestion charge, or any other measure taken to improve the finances of TfL are entirely the responsibility of the bankrupt current mayor of London,” he said, adding that TfL had been left in “robust health” in 2016.
