Police have stopped 18,500 passengers for not wearing masks but only handed out 59 fines so far
Police have stopped 18,500 passengers for not wearing masks but only handed out 59 fines so far, reveals Sadiq Khan who admits he hasn’t spoken to Boris Johnson since May despite crisis
- Mayor of London tells GMB he hasn’t spoken to Boris Johnson since May
- The last Cobra meeting was on May 10 – the same day PM first eased lockdown
- Sadiq Khan says just 59 people have been fined for not wearing masks in public
Published: 05:11 EDT, 14 July 2020 | Updated: 07:18 EDT, 14 July 2020
Sadiq Khan has revealed that police officers in London have just fined 59 people after stopping 18,500 for not wearing masks on the Tube – as he criticised the prime minister for not speaking to him since May.
The London Mayor criticised the government’s ‘mixed messaging and confusion’ on face masks as he revealed he had not spoken to Boris Johnson since May 10 when…..
The pair met several times at Corba meetings in the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, but there has been no contact since lockdown measures were eased.
City Hall explained the pair usually only meet at Cobra meetings, but a spokesman for the mayor said: ‘In times of crisis you would expect to have a closer working relationship.’
It comes as the government performed a U-Turn on wearing facemasks in shops which is set to be compulsory blah blah
Facemasks were made compulsory on public transport in England on June 15 but it was revealed only 59 Londoners have been fined.
Boris Johnson met with London Ambulance Service paramedics on Monday, but has not seen the Mayor of London for more than two months
Mr Khan’s comments came ahead of new rules, starting from next Friday, that will make it mandatory to wear face masks in shops and supermarkets – but Mr Khan revealed that just 59 people had been fined for not following similar rules on board public transport in the capital.
Mr Khan told presenters Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway: ‘On public transport we’ve had to issue very few fines, only 59, but a combination of British Transport Police and Transport for London enforce officers have encouraged people to wear face coverings.
‘The good news is during rush hour more than 90 per cent of commuters are wearing face coverings.
Sadiq Khan said around 90 per cent of passengers are wearing some kind of covering on their face, but some are still choosing not to. Exemptions are in place for children and people with certain physical or mental health conditions
Commuters on the Central Line this morning were wearing face coverings as they travelled through London
‘I’m hoping that police won’t be required to issue lots of fines I hope customers will realise “me wearing a face mask makes you safe, you wearing a face mask makes me safe”.’
Shoppers who fail to comply with new rules from July 24 risk fines of £100 under the plans to stop a second wave of coronavirus.
Retailers will be asked to advise customers to wear masks but their staff will not be expected to enforce the law. Instead, police will be given powers to dish out fines.
Only young children or those with certain disabilities will be exempt from the new regulations.
Most commuters on the Central Line were wearing some kind of covering this morning, but there are still passengers travelling with their mouths and noses exposed.
Police appeared to step up patrols on face masks, with a large presence of officers spotted near Westminster Tube station being reported by commuters on Tuesday morning.
Mr Khan had criticised the government for delaying rules on face masks on public transport until June and has called for the new rules for shops to be implemented ‘immediately’.
Some people are still not wearing face masks on London’s public transport, ahead of new rules that will make it compulsory to wear coverings in shops and indoor spaces from next Friday
Speaking today he said: ”Don’t be alarmed at this new rule, I wish it was being brought in today rather than next Friday.
‘This will help all of us be safer and could prevent a second wave that could have led to a second lockdown, which none of us want.’
Following his criticism of the government, GMB presenter Ben Shephard asked Mr Khan when he had last spoken to the Prime Minister, after the mayor called for more frequent Cobra meetings during a previous appearance on GMB.
The Labour mayor revealed he had had no contact with the PM since May 10.
Mr Khan said: ‘One of my concerns is that it’s led to some poor decision-making some of the decisions and policy that PM has can’t be properly tested in a private space where there can be candor.
‘That leads to group thinking which I think has led to some poor decision making.’
Mr Khan said he had lobbied the PM on occasions since they last met, more than two months ago.
He added: ‘My concern isn’t because of vanity, it’s because I’m the mayor of a city with more than 9million people.
‘It’s for the Prime Minister to explain why that is, I hope its’s not because he’s playing petty party politics.
Mayor warns of £500million hole in London’s finances
Sadiq Khan slashed his £152,000 salary by 10 per cent last month as he warned coronavirus has caused a £500million hole in London‘s finances.
The mayor is reducing his salary by more than £15,000 as he threatened cuts to police, fire services and the Tube unless the government bails the capital out.
The call came amid mounting concerns about the impact of lockdown on the economy, with fears GDP will plunge by a third this quarter as the UK endures the worst recession in 300 years.
Mr Khan was heavily criticised for slow progress in getting transport services in the capital to full levels, with images of workers packed in to carriages.
The government has already offered a £1.6billion injection to shore up Transport for London, while slamming the ‘pre-existing poor condition’ of its finances.
But Mr Khan said the GLA, in common with other authorities across the country, faces a £493million budget shortfall over the next two years, due to loss of business rates and council tax income from coronavirus.
There have also been costs to ‘support Londoners during the pandemic’, he insisted.
‘Our population is greater than Scotland and Wales put together and some, but also we’ve got four airports serving our city, we’ve got the Eurostar serving our city, we contribute between a quarter and a third of our country’s wealth.
‘If the government is keen for a recovery to be successful they’ve really got to be working with us because it’s got to be a team effort.’
It’s understood the PM has not spoken with First Minister for Wales since May 28.
Mark Drakeford told LBC last week: ‘We’ve had contact through the Cabinet Office with the UK government and when it happens it’s helpful. Downing Street itself? No I have not had a meeting with the Prime Minister since the 28th of May.’
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s last Covid-related call with the PM was on May 28. The two leaders last spoke on June 26, in connection with an attack outside a Glasgow hotel that left six people injured.
MailOnline has approached Downing Street for a comment.
The PM and and Mayor of London have clashed since lockdown began over funding the capital’s transport and the protection of statues targeted during last month’s Black Lives Matter protests.
Mr Khan called on the government to bailout the capital, which he claimed faces a £493million budget shortfall over the next two years, due to loss of business rates and council tax income from coronavirus.
The government has already offered a £1.6billion injection to shore up Transport for London, while slamming the ‘pre-existing poor condition’ of its finances.
Last month, a furious Boris Johnson took a swipe at the Sadiq Khan after a statue of Sir Winston Churchill, which was defaced during Black Lives Matter protests, was boarded up.
The PM blasted ‘absurd and shameful’ attacks on the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and said the UK ‘cannot lie about its history’ as Sadiq Khan was accused of ‘surrendering’ the capital’s streets ‘to the mob’ after he ordered the boarding up of the monument to Britain’s greatest prime minister and the nearby Cenotaph.
Sadiq Khan revealed just 59 people had been fined on London’s public transport for failing to wear face coverings, while also revealing he hadn’t spoken to the Prime Minister since May 10
In an extraordinary Twitter outburst, Mr Johnson has slammed those who want to topple the Churchill statue and said: ‘The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country – and the whole of Europe – from a fascist and racist tyranny’.
He added: ‘It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protestors. Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial’.
While Mr Johnson didn’t mention Sadiq Khan in his tweets, they were sent after a phalanx of Tory MPs slammed the Mayor of London for boarding up monuments instead of using police officers to form a ring of steel around them and arrest anyone who tries to attack them.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show it cost £10,147 to put a hoarding around the statue of Churchill.
A further £21,115 was spent on protecting statues of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
The GLA said it cost £3,050 to remove graffiti in Parliament and Trafalgar squares.
Churchill’s statue was boxed up on June 12 but the boarding was removed six days later ahead of a visit by French president Emmanuel Macron.
