• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

First of all, can I echo the comments people have made about the bravery, leadership, and good service given by many Londoners, including many for whom it is not a natural part of their work, which includes several who are colleagues and friends of mine, and indeed, the leadership offered by the Mayor, which is something I would not have said a few years ago. Secondly, though, I am reassured by the comments that yourself and Val Shawcross have given on fire safety, for example. Nevertheless, would you agree with me that once the summer is over, and once we...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Four of the fire engines are due to be removed this autumn. They have not yet been removed. Is there not any need to review the emergency cover before it goes ahead?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Can I first of all say, I am sure everybody on my side of the Chamber would associate ourselves with the comments that you have just made. I, too, will pay tribute to the work that was done by all our emergency services and volunteers right across the capital. Can I just ask a couple of practical points for the immediate future, because I suspect we will want to take a cooler look at things in due course. We all hope and pray that we never have to go through this exercise again, but just in terms of immediate lessons...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Something else which has been raised to me by a number of people since the bombings is that this is a good reason to return conductors and guards to the Tube system, to provide extra sets of eyes. I have to say I feel that would be prohibitively expensive, but do you have plans, for instance, to increase the powers that our ticket inspectors have, so that they could require people to show them what is inside their bags, for example?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Mr Mayor, I would like to start by passing on to you the regards of a good few Londoners who have asked me to do this. They have said how pleased they are that they had you as a Mayor, and they have said that in relation to the leadership and the words that you spoke. They said that they felt that you were speaking for them, and I just wanted to pass that on to you. I have a two-part question. We recognise that the events of 7 July brought the majority of Londoners together, because it seems to...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

There have been a number of suggestions from Members during this discussion to strengthen community relations within the Muslim community. Particularly, people have pointed up the need in terms of children and young people, and you have mentioned unemployed young Muslims. I am thinking on my feet here, but I believe that until the 2000 census, faith was not a category within it. If that is correct, then we would not have been able to track the size and diversity ' 67 different nations, something that you have just been talking about, Richard (Barnes) ' in terms of the diversity...

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Mr Mayor, I was coming in after Len Duvall's question about with whom you were going to communicate, and John Biggs has actually just communicated to you what, in fact, I was going to say. I had the fortunate occasion on Saturday of being with the Wimbledon branch of the British Muslims' Association. I am invited regularly to their seminars, and this was one that had been organised two months previously. I have to say that I met with these good people who were absolutely astonished, astounded, and very grieving over what had happened. What they were saying was they...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

I wondered if I can briefly return you to the subject of your relief fund. You say that we need to wait and see who are the trustees that you are going to appoint. Have you yet any idea of the sort of remit that you want this fund to have, and what its priorities will be? For instance, in your mind is it going to try to, in some way, compensate for the tragic loss of life for those families who were left grieving; is it, perhaps, to compensate for injuries; or is it, indeed, to try to compensate...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

Just one last question: would decisions on how that compensation was prioritised take into account, for instance, that some of the people might have been insured and, therefore, might be going to receive more money than others who will not have been? Is that the sort of priority that you will also need to look at?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 20 July 2005

What about things that could be perceived as provocative - things like having the arms fair here in London, things like our policy in the Middle East? You do have views on this. Are you going to urge the Government to restrain these things?