London Mayor slams UK government over transport funding

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called the UK government’s demand that Transport for London (TfL) increase fares and expand the congestion charge zone “ill-advised and draconian".

The Mayor also accused Boris Johnson of “lying to parliament” over the UK Prime Minister’s claim that TfL was "effectively bankrupt" even before the start of the pandemic.

The extraordinary exchange comes as TfL seeks a £5.7 billion (US$7.5 billion) package to keep services running for the next 18 months, after passenger numbers and revenues plummeted by up to 90 percent in the aftermath of the March lockdown.

Speaking on Twitter, Khan said: “The PM has lied to the House of Commons. Before Covid-19 I was fixin...