• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

That is not the same as, you know, just actually saying, `I made a mistake.' You say, `Oh, somebody else made a mistake.'

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Since you have already referred in so elliptical fashion to your Deputy Mayor in your discussions about the London Plan, could I just say that clearly something does seem to be wrong at the top, because you are admitting that you do not know half the answers that go out in your name, and it is quite clear that your Deputy does not always know that she has actually asked questions, which apparently have gone out in her name, because she was somewhat surprised, as it turns out, to get an answer on the future of the City of London...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

The difference is they do not always then blame the unnamed other staff for things that go wrong, when they do not want to take responsibility for them.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

You do. You suggest that it is other people, other than yourself.

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

At the Assembly meeting on 20 October, we had a debate about affordable housing, and I suggested to you that one of the ways in which we could deal with the problem of affordable housing was to lower the threshold for obliging developers to provide affordable housing from 15 to 10. Your observation on that was, `I agree with you. I think it is absolutely excellent.' When this particular matter went to the Secretary of State, because you, in your wisdom, thought that Richmond's affordable housing policy was wrong, the Minister overruled you and applauded our policy. Your press statement...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Well, you just say, `Oh, somebody else did it, and I did not know they had done it.'

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

It is you talking with several voices. There was an enormous amount of publicity in the local press, orchestrated by your press office, sending out that press release, which portrayed me as some kind of supine villain who was having some policy forced upon me. I wonder, in the spirit of openness and honesty, and in the endeavour to get everybody to like you, even me, whether or not you would put out a press release saying, `I was wrong. The press office, got it a bit wrong, and Tony Arbour is a saint.'

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Are you not able to answer it now?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Do you read all the content?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 15 December 2004

Who, therefore, takes responsibility for the content?