Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall has pledged to appoint a women’s commissioner and end what she called “chumocracy” at City Hall, if elected in May.
The Tory hopeful said she wanted to see more done to protect women’s safety in the capital, three years on from the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.
Hall, in her first major policy announcement ahead of the May 2 election, also called for more specialist officers in boroughs, and a stronger response to sexual harassment on the Tube.
It comes after a damning Home Office-commissioned independent review, led by Dame Elish Angiolini, found the Met Police missed multiple opportunities to stop killer cop Wayne Couzens.
Her plans were backed by influencer Georgie Clarke who told the BBC in 2021 how she was harassed on the Underground and felt let down by Transport for London (TfL’s) response.
The woman’s commissioner would “work with Londoners to create a fully-fledged women’s safety strategy”, Hall said.
She also wrote in a piece for the Evening Standard that, if elected, she would “dismantle Sadiq Khan’s chumocracy”.
Hall wrote: “Under Sadiq Khan, City Hall has turned into a full-blown mates’ club. He has doled out cushy jobs to his pals, acting like they’re rewards to dish out.”
She criticised night czar Amy Lamé, who has taken flak in recent weeks for her £116,000 role championing London’s nightlife – despite pubs and clubs vanishing from the city.
Lamé, Hall claimed, is the “poster child for this chumocracy… who seems to think her role is more about globe-trotting to Sydney than saving our city’s nightlife.
“Her appointment screams of nepotism. She’s a buddy of Sadiq Khan, she’s a Labour member and activist, and she accused David Cameron of “using his dead son as a pawn.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “This election is a close two-horse race between Sadiq and an extreme Tory candidate, who has herself said she is not a feminist, and who only last week suggested police misconduct against women should be dealt with behind closed doors.
“The Tory government has imposed £1bn cuts on the Met with a devastating impact on the services that keep women safe.
“By contrast, Sadiq has invested a record £163m on tackling violence against women and girls in London.”
Sadiq Khan has been contacted for comment regarding Hall’s “chumocracy” claims.