Boris Johnson's record on business came under attack today as Ken Livingstone claimed the Tory had plans to shut down overseas Greater London Authority offices, horrifying the City.
The Mayor said the offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai and Brussels were needed to attract investment and create jobs. Think London, the capital's inward investment agency, also has offices in New York and San Francisco.
Mr Livingstone is speaking at a hustings to be held by London's business community tonight. He will tell the London First event: "The greatest challenge facing London businesses is globalisation, and therefore maintaining London as the most international and diverse business city in the world.
"To meet this challenge London has to build its position not only in traditional markets, such as the US, but in the huge new markets of India and China. Nothing therefore more clearly symbolises the difference between myself and Boris Johnson for London businesses, and the future of our city, than my opening offices to promote London in the US, China and India and Boris Johnson's pledge to close down all offices promoting London abroad."
He added: "When I told one of London's leading businessmen that he had pledged to close down the offices promoting London abroad he thought it was a slur - until his jaw dropped as he realised it was serious."
Aides to the Tory candidate said he would review the offices' use before any final decision was made.
Mr Johnson said: "From day one I will review every office under a value-for-money programme. For too long this Mayor has concentrated on his ego and foreign policy and less on the concerns of Londoners and these offices are an example of this."
The Mayor says the offices, which cost a total of more than £1 million a year, work on issues including tourism, foreign students and film. He says each job created in London generates an average of £40,000, so the Shanghai office, for example, which costs about £130,000 a year to run, would pay for itself if it generated three jobs a year.
