Milton must 'resign or reject mayor's offer'

London mayor Boris Johnson (Con) has been accused of trying to "sneak around the law" in installing Sir Simon Milton as his planning adviser.

London Assembly member Len Duvall (Lab) has written to the Greater London Authority's monitoring officer claiming Local Government Association chairman Sir Simon cannot take on the role of adviser to the mayor while retaining his seat at Westminster City Council, despite having resigned as leader.

"The terms and conditions of Sir Simon Milton's appointment seem to have been changed a number of times in what looks like a series of attempts to sneak around the restrictions imposed by the law," Cllr Duval claimed in his letter.

The latest of these moves has been an attempt to suggest that Sir Simon's advice to the mayor was being offered on an "informal" basis, he said.

As Sir Simon does not have a contract of employment with the GLA he is not bound by its code of conduct.

Mr Duvall called on Sir Simon to either resign his Westminster seat or turn down his mayoral appointment. He also called on Westminster's monitoring officer to pursue the matter.

"To follow Sir Simon's advice without any formal checks on what may have influenced his view, shows a worrying disregard for the principles of good governance," added
assembly member Darren Johnson (Green).

The Monitoring Office has indicated that it will respond in three weeks.