• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Fine. Let's go to your friends in the ALG. They take the view that the MPA gross budget, that the efficiency targets we've got, actually could be somewhat higher. Is that your view? Do you think actually more could be achieved in terms of efficiency given that you've now taken a personal interest?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

And who is actually running the MPA?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Is that success or failure as Chairman of the MPA?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

You also said on 12 December that there are a number of issues in connection with grant funding where we continue to have concerns. There's an awful lot of "wes" in here, I presume by we you mean the Authority rather than the royal "we" that we are used to? You mentioned counter-terrorism costs, which we've dealt with, but you also had a list of other things. You said on 12 December, "Our view is that the MPA is being short changed [by the Government] on the funding for the London pay lead". You said, "The MPA is the only...

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

On 12 December, talking about RAF at the time, when you said, "You could say it was Graham's fault", which I think refers to Lord Tope, you also said, "We did not have that detailed discussion", that is with Lord Tope, who was the Chairman of that, and you have just said now, "You have not had a detailed discussion with him who is also Chairman of Finance", but you did comment on 12 December and said, "In retrospect, one of the things I have to recognise, is that I have to take much more detailed control over MPA initiatives...

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

We talk about 250 officers, 240 officers from the boroughs, and backfilling with new recruits to cover the officers on the traffic issues. We've also talked on the MPA of some 400 officers to backfill for the special operations. And we've talked of, only last Friday, of experienced traffic officers being pulled and backfilling again within the boroughs, which if you add those simple numbers together it comes to some 880 officers backfilled. We also know, that there's 1,000 new officers gone to boroughs over the course of this year. A simple calculation tells me that some boroughs could be...

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Mr Godwin also talked about tabling a paper, a very important paper. If it's not tabled, we need it in advance, and I think it's about time that we get through to the MPS that the MPA is there for good. I think it's time Chairman, you and your Chairman got tough, and you pulled papers off agendas that were laid on the table with serious budgetary consequences. Sometimes you put us all in a very difficult position. We may one day make the wrong decision.

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Barnet hasn't.

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

I certainly wouldn't say the Kray twins is a miscarriage of justice. And of course what I'm asking for Lord Harris is a guarantee from the MPA, from you as Chairman, that money is being spent on matters that are relevant to the people of London, such as street crime and not on 30 year old murder cases where all the suspects are dead?

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Thank you Chair, just moving on. Lord Harris, did you hear media reports earlier in the week that apparently the Met intends to reopen investigations into the 30-year-old Kray murders? Now are not the public really fed up with this sort of scurrilous and nonsensical reopening of old cases that have no value and don't tackle the crime issues? Is not police time better spent on other more relevant matters?