• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 21 February 2006

Damian Hockney (AM): That is an extreme version of what the Mail would say, surely? The Mayor: I have read it. Damian Hockney (AM): But it is not racism. The Mayor: I have opened the Daily Mail ' or the Mail on Sunday ' and, in the first 10 pages, seen eight devoted to the issue of asylum. Damian Hockney (AM): That is because their readers are interested in the subject, but it is not a racist thing. Similarly, highlighting one or two articles by certain individuals does not mean that the media, surely, is institutionally racist. By saying that...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 21 February 2006

Just very briefly, Mayor, I just wanted to make a point arising from what Jennette Arnold [AM] just said, and that is that many of us, when we heard Sir Ian's remarks, were so surprised and so shocked, we did not really know what to say. Certainly, I did not want a brawl, in public, in front of the media, with Sir Ian, over such a remark. I know my other colleagues felt the same. My background is as a journalist and not only would I find it offensive to hear such a thing ' and I did ' but...

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 21 February 2006

Mr Mayor, do you think, therefore, the job description for Sir Ian Blair should include giving the Dimbleby Lecture and appearing on Question Time and every other media opportunity going?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

So you would consider that to be a rather unattractive option?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Thank you. You have covered the main schemes but you have not mentioned the Oxford Street proposal that the Mayor surprisingly announced on a radio programme, in the middle of August I believe, which seemed to come as some surprise to the Cross River Tram design team. Why did you not feature the Oxford Street tram in your list?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

OK. So you are proposing tram schemes right across London with the exception of the Thames Gateway and Greenwich water front area which, in the Mayor's Strategic Plans, are featured as priorities for regeneration and, presumably, modal shift. There is quite a lot of concern on the Assembly that there is not a tram proposal on the table. The Mayor has said he is pretty sure that once the transit buses have been running a year or two, we will be able to propose a tram, whereas Dick Halle (Director of Strategy for Surface Transport, TfL) told the Transport Committee...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

I am glad to hear the Cross River Tram already has a good business case from a passenger point of view, but I think it would be helpful to see more enthusiasm from TfL for the Cross River Tram. It was very striking that Barry Broe (Director Group Planning and Transport Policy, TfL) referred to the trams in general as only providing potentially 1% of the capacity in London at the briefing. Do you not think that, given that the tube system is at congestion point and the train lines and the train stations are at congestion point, the addition...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

So how do TfL and the LDA liaise about regeneration impact of these transport schemes proposed in the Transport 2025 document?

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Can I follow that up? I spent a day walking potential routes , and it is very striking that there are acres and acres of car park, and the development of that area, which is quite central to London, is vastly under developed. Now I hear what you are saying as you are talking about the importance of the business case for tram schemes based upon volumes of people, but do you think there would be scope for boosting the regeneration cases for light rail schemes if there was more joined up working between the London Development Agency (LDA), TfL...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Just a quick question about the financial strategy for your trams, and the West London Tram in particular. If the CSR does not give you the money this year, or indeed later on, as you have suggested might be acceptable, once the public inquiry has been and gone, and you do not get it then either, would you borrow the money in order to do the West London Tram?