Third Boris Johnson deputy mayor resigns

Boris Johnson's deputy mayor Ian Clement dramatically quit today amid claims that he lied about his expenses.

The Mayor accepted Mr Clement's resignation after "discrepancies" emerged in his claims for restaurant bills, the Standard has learned.

In a move that rocked City Hall, the deputy mayor was forced out of office when at least two of his lunch "guests" came forward to say they had never been present on the dates claimed.

Mr Clement, deputy mayor for external relations, was disciplined last week for running up about £1,500 on a corporate credit card. The money was spent on groceries and meals out. He also used the card to upgrade two Beijing flights on British Airways to business class while Mr Johnson flew economy. Mr Clement claimed at the time that he had made a "crass mistake" and the Mayor refused to accept his offer of resignation because he believed that there were no further allegations. Mr Clement's resignation is the third by a deputy mayor in less than a year.

It is understood that Mr Johnson hauled in Mr Clement this morning after investigators found a problem with a claim for a restaurant meal. A senior City Hall source said that at least one of the meals Mr Clement had claimed for had not been with the person Mr Clement named on the expenses claim.

"In the so-called legitimate' meals, the person on the list [Mr Clement claimed for] was not really present," the source said. "We had reason to doubt one specific meal which we put to him. He did not deny it.

"Boris was quite right not to hang someone for stupidity in using the credit card. But dishonesty is a quite different matter." In his letter to Mr Clement, the Mayor said: "Thank you for your letter of resignation, which I accept with immediate effect. In the light of the further discrepancies in your expenses, it is clear that your position is untenable."

In his own letter, Mr Clement wrote: "It has been a pleasure to work for you and I am sorry that I have let you down and deflected away from the excellent work you and indeed your team are doing in delivering for Londoners."

When Mr Clement's original credit card bill was revealed, he was forced to hand back the credit card.

The Mayor said at the time: "There's a difference between what is crass and what is appropriate, what makes me angry and what is actually dishonest." He said the main thing was that Mr Clement had repaid the money in full. However, in preparation for Wednesday's meeting of the business and administration committee, officials went over the restaurant receipt and found the "discrepancy". Evening Standard understands that in at least one case, a meal at the Blue Olive restaurant in Barnet, his stated guest was not present.

Jeannette Arnold, who chairs the committee which is investigating the breach, said: "Serious questions remain about how long the misuse of the card continued, apparently undetected, and the type of expenditure that was charged to the GLA without being repaid."

Len Duvall, leader of the London Assembly Labour group, said: "For all his talk of transparency in his office, it's clear that serious questions need to be asked as yet another deputy bites the dust."

One deputy mayor, Ray Lewis, was forced out after it emerged he had misled the Mayor about his CV, and another, Tim Parker, left after a month in the post.