Mayor cuts 75% off taxi bill

Ken Livingstone has cut his taxi bills by more than 75 per cent, new figures show.

A year after coming under fire for taking two £260 taxis from the Labour and TUC conferences in Blackpool, the Mayor has dramatically cut his spending.

He ran up bills of £450.77 from 1 April to 31 August this year, compared to more than £2,000 for the same period last year.

Unlike Government ministers, he doesn't have a chauffeur-driven car and claims to save £48,000 a year by using public transport.

He returned from this year's Tory conference in Blackpool by train.

Figures going before the London Assembly this week show that overall the Mayor and 25 Assembly members spent £36,361 on travel, with City Hall staff running up an additional £4,314.