Sir Terry Morgan – former Chair of Crossrail - to the London Assembly Transport Committee on 9 January 2019:
On being told what to say by TfL:
- “…I was given a sheet by TfL about what to say at that board meeting and that took out any reference to not being able to deliver the programme in 2018.” (Later in the meeting, TfL denied this.)
On having his advice to the Mayor edited by TfL:
- “We did issue a weekly briefing note to the Mayor… that second paragraph in what went to the Mayor was deleted – by TfL”
On what he told the Mayor on July 26, 2018:
- “Delivery in 2018 is not feasible. What does it mean?”
Sir Terry Morgan, former Chair of Crossrail, today told the London Assembly Transport Committee that he gave Transport for London (TfL) a briefing note meant for the Mayor but they deleted a paragraph which said there would be insufficient time to complete testing.
Sir Terry was also adamant that he told the Mayor the project would be delayed on 26 July 2018. He added he does not suffer from memory loss, in response to the Mayor suggesting he had ‘misremembered’ some details about the delay.
The Committee has summonsed further documents from Transport for London (TfL) and Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander.
The Chair of the Transport Committee, Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, said:
“Despite the many revelations from Sir Terry Morgan today, there are still contradicting accounts of who knew what and when.
“It continues to be a very frustrating process getting to the bottom of the confusion, but Londoners have a right to know. Not only do we need to see Crossrail back on track and open for passengers, we also need to ensure lessons are learnt for the future.
“We look forward to receiving the document mentioned by the former Chair today and the further documents we have summonsed.”
Notes to editors
- Watch today’s meeting here and the meeting on 21 December 2018 here.
- Correspondence between the Mayor and the Transport Committee
- Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, Chair of the Transport Committee, is available for interview – see contact details below.
- London Assembly Transport Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
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