• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Right, so that's that aspect of your work. Is the process then that 24 hours before a meeting you would then see the sum total of the advice and decide whether the Mayor's advisor has done the job properly and there is sufficient advice for the Mayor?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Thank you, Simon. As I understand it, your role falls into three parts. Within the Mayor's office you act as essentially the Mayor's procurer of information and advice, making sure that it's timely and so on. Is that just within the Mayor's office, or is that more generally? Is that throughout the structure of the Authority?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

And is it likely to happen?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Do you envisage following up an earlier line of questioning that you might resign from your position in order to enable you to campaign for the Mayor's re-election?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

You are in an interesting position in British politics. I think you are almost uniquely a heartbeat away from redundancy, in your position. It's a nice sound bite.

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I think, to all intents and purposes, your average Londoner would assume that you are, with great respect to my colleague the Deputy Mayor, effectively a deputy mayor of London. Do you imagine there could be circumstances where a different Simon Fletcher or a different mayor might employ someone in your position who would have a more public persona and would, for example, be interviewed and speak on behalf of the Mayor to TV cameras?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Let's have both: when the Mayor is away, and in general.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

Is there any written record of executive decisions that you take in the Mayor's name?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

But is there a written scheme of delegation? The answer, presumably, is no.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 12 June 2002

I have no recollection at all of any delegation to a chief of staff, or indeed any mention in the Act of a chief of staff under the Act. Delegation, as far as I recall, was actually to the Deputy Mayor.