As three police officers face a misconduct inquiry over the handling of an investigation involving an Arsenal footballer, bringing to light eight years of free season tickets given by the club to the Metropolitan Police, Caroline Pidgeon said:
"Before accepting any hospitality every police officer should ask fundamental questions as to whether acceptance is good for policing and how it would be perceived by the public.
As a "mystery" Cessna plane flying over London sparked speculation on its potential use for surveillance, Caroline Pidgeon commented:
Of course the Met needs to defend some secrecy over its surveillance work, however you can't put planes up over London without people noticing. It would be best if the Met simply admitted that vital surveillance work takes place and at the same time was open about the costs of such operations.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and policing spokesperson, commenting on today’s report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on how the Metropolitan Police Service is dealing with budget pressures, said:
“The overall judgment given to the Met Police Service’s record so far is encouraging, however we cannot hide away from the fact that severe pressures will face the Met, starting from 2016.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and transport spokesperson commenting on the highly critical KPMG report on the collapse of the Bombardier signalling contract which has just been published, said:
“It is staggering that TfL simply accepted at face value significant claims made by Bombardier before they awarded such a major contract. Due to a lack of research and basic enquiries about their actual record TfL signed up with a company that had no track record in London and little chance of being able to deliver the new signalling on some of the oldest and most complex Tube lines in the world.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the latest Airports Commission’s inner Thames estuary studies, revealing significantly higher estimated costs for train and road links to the proposed airport than previously suggested by the Mayor, said:
"These latest reports are a potential death blow to the Mayor's dream of creating a massive airport located in the Thames estuary.
The Mayor of London has accepted that real action is needed to better safeguard children who go missing from the care of local authorities in response to questions put to him by Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group.
Earlier this year Caroline Pidgeon published a report Looked After Children: Missing From Care, based on freedom of information requests made to every London Borough. Her report revealed that across London 931 looked after children went missing from the care of London Boroughs in 2012 and 2013 for at least 24 hours.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson, commenting on Transport for London’s plans to make it easier for customers to get a refund for a delayed tube, DLR or London Overground journey said:
“For far too long very few passengers have actually received the compensation they are entitled to. Millions of passengers have simply missed out because the process has been far too complicated and long winded.
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and deputy chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, commenting on the decision by the Mayor of London to proceed with purchasing water cannon, said:
"There is no evidence at all to defend the provision of water cannon in London. After three evidence hearings at City Hall the case against the use of water cannon was compelling.
As Transport for London begins the process of making a new sponsorship deal for the Cycle Hire scheme, Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
"Many lessons need to be learnt from the exclusive sponsorship deal that the mayor and TfL struck with Barclays Bank.
"Above all else the contract was unnecessarily secretive and far too favourable to the bank.
"The bank should have paid far more for the benefits they had been granted under the sponsorship deal."
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined thousands of other Londoners in a mass cycle ride on Saturday 17th May in support of the Space for Cycling Campaign organised by the London Cycling Campaign in the run up to the London borough elections.
