Independent review into London and Partners’ processes published

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today published an independent review into processes in place at his promotional agency London and Partners (L&P).

The Mayor asked Kathryn Robinson, General Counsel of the London Fire Brigade, to carry out a review of the current processes for the selection of delegates for trade missions and decisions about commercial sponsorship by London & Partners.

This followed allegations in the media in September that Jennifer Arcuri was able to participate in trade missions and receive sponsorship money during Boris Johnson’s Mayoralty that she may not have been entitled to, as a result of their friendship.

The review only considered current processes and not those in place during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor, so as not to prejudice work being carried out by the Independent Office for Police Conduct to determine whether to investigate the allegations.

The review has concluded that processes currently in place at L&P are generally robust and found no evidence of any inappropriate influence on decision making but that some areas should be improved.

Key recommendations include:

• The reasons for decisions about applications to join the Mayor’s International Business Programme and delegate attendance at trade missions should be clearly and consistently recorded.

• Clear records should be kept of any discussions with the Mayor of London’s Office, or any other third party, regarding L&P’s decisions about delegate attendance.

• Companies attending all trade missions for the past 12 months should be included on the L&P website; not all recent missions were listed.

• A reminder of the process for deciding sponsorship should be provided for L&P staff.

Kathryn Robinson, General Counsel of London Fire Brigade, said: “My review has concluded that the processes and procedures currently in place at L&P are generally working well. However, as with all organisations there is always room for improvement and implementing these recommendations will further promote robust decision making and transparency.”

Read the documents

Review of the London and Partners Process of Selection (PDF)

Appendices 1

Appendices 2

Appendices 3