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The Telegraph

Sadiq Khan under fire as cost of plan to move City Hall soars

The cost of Sadiq Khan’s plan to move City Hall to an east London exhibition centre increased by 70 per cent in just eight months, raising questions about the financial management of the project. The move will now require a one-off payment of £13.6 million. In July, the capital’s Mayor told London Assembly members that the cost would be £8 million. It is a higher percentage increase than that seen in the Crossrail budget. Mr Khan has faced criticism from a cross-party group of London Assembly members, including the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, for a lack of transparency over the plan’s finances. Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, accused Mr Khan of “trying to hide the ever-increasing costs”, adding that “in the space of a few months, Khan has managed to increase the cost by over £5 million, and the move hasn’t even started yet. There are serious questions to answer here”. Caroline Pidgeon, the only Liberal Democrat assembly member, expressed similar dismay in a combative meeting with Mr Khan’s advisers. She said: “We were previously told that you were absolutely confident in your estimates for the move costs and these were set to be about £8 million. The wording was that they were ‘robust’. You were very confident about them.” Despite the inflating initial costs, Mr Khan insisted the move will save money in the long run, pointing to the fact that the Greater London Authority would no longer have to pay rent on City Hall on the South Bank as the new building, called The Crystal and in the Royal Docks, is publicly owned.