Boris will finally talk about Damian Green
Friday, 30 January 2009 12:00 AM
By Laura Miller
The London mayor and the Met's new assistant commissioner will finally speak out about their involvement in the arrest of shadow immigration minister Damian Green.
Boris Johnson and Bob Quick have at last agreed to give public evidence to the leaks inquiry into home office information that appeared in the press last year, and which culminated in the nine hour arrest of Mr Green.
"I am delighted that the mayor and assistant commissioner will be giving evidence to the committee as part this important inquiry," said Keith Vaz, chairman of the committee.
After speaking to the mayor, who is currently at the Davos summit, he said the issue of his attendance has now been "dealt with".
Earlier this week Mr Vaz had been "disappointed" by Mr Johnson's failure to attend a previously scheduled committee meeting into the events surrounding the leaks. On Tuesday he wrote to the mayor again to request for a second time that he present his evidence publicly.
"We were disappointed with the response from the mayor given his public expression of concern at the time of the arrest", Mr Vaz said on Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Police Authority had until now also disappointed the committee by declining to give their version of the events leading up to and after Mr Green's arrest, citing conflicts with their own inquiries into the case.
Describing the mayor and assistant commissioner Quick as having played "significant roles" in events, Mr Vaz said today that "it is in the public interest that [Johnson and Quick] give evidence to the committee in regards to what they know about these matters".
The mayor will appear in front of the home affairs committee on March 3rd at 12 noon. The assistant commissioner is scheduled to appear the following week on March 10th.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith and permanent secretary Sir David Normington have already given evidence, although the committee has not ruled out calling them again.
The committee's inquiry is centres on the how the Home Office reacted to the suspected leaks of information, and the procedures followed by the police when they were asked to investigate further.
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