Johnson defends Olympics attendance (From Hillingdon Times)

Johnson defends Olympics attendance

3:04pm Monday 11th August 2008

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The Mayor's office has defended the cost of Boris Johnson and a team attending the Olympics in Beijing.

Mr Johnson is taking 13 staff at a reported £167,000, while the London Development Agency has spent £3m on a private members' club in Beijing.

A spokesman for the mayor's office said the numbers originally due to attend had been "substantially cut."

"The Mayor has ensured the number of staff travelling to the Games is kept to the absolute minimum. He will personally only be present for the last few days of the Olympics and will travel with just three members of his team," he said.

"Significant savings have also been made by cancelling expensive hotel suites and premium flights that had been planned."

Mr Johnson has also abandoned expensive plans for a London bus to go to Beijing, and made the London Development Agency cut the budget of the London House by £1m.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has also scrapped a plan to ban cars from the Western side of Parliament Square in front of Westminster Abbey.

He claimed the £18m scheme was set aside amid fears that the pedestrianisation would increase congestion and cost London taxpayers too much.

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