Milton becomes Johnson's deputy

Sir Simon Milton becomes deputy mayor of policy and planning

• Increase image
• View all images

Sir Simon Milton has announced that he is stepping down as Local Government Association chairman to become London mayor Boris Johnson's full time deputy.

Sir Simon will be deputy mayor for policy and planning. His appointment, announced last night and subject to ratification under the Greater London Authority's (GLA) formal appointment procedure, follows the recent departure of deputy mayor Ray Lewis amidst allegations of financial irregularities.

The appointment will also trigger Sir Simon's resignation from Westminster City Council, of which he was leader until taking an unpaid advisory post with Mr Johnson after the recent London elections.

Sir Simon's combination of roles at the GLA, the LGA and Westminster have been the subject of widespread criticism by Labour opponents since his appointment to the unpaid London post in May.

Irresistible opportunity

Sir Simon said: "For me, a Londoner born and bred, who has worked on behalf of my fellow Londoners in local government for twenty years, the opportunity to work across the entire capital was irresistible.

"I believe that I can make a significant contribution to making Londoners' lives better and making Boris Johnson's mayoralty a success.

"As the law prevents a councillor from being employed by the Mayor, I will be resigning my membership of Westminster City Council and with it, my eligibility to continue to chair the LGA. This has been a difficult decision for me. It has been a huge privilege and immensely enjoyable to serve local government as LGA chairman for the past year."

Paul Coen, the LGA chief executive, confirmed that, under the association's conventions, the Conservatives are entitled to nominate its next chair as the largest group. It is expected that the new chairman will be nominated in September.