Tory mayor candidate attacked over 'TfL facts' website

Shaun Bailey's campaign for Mayor of London runs the Transport for London Bailout Facts website

A transport union has accused the Conservative candidate for London mayor of running a campaign website "masquerading as neutral".

Transport for London Bailout Facts was set up by Shaun Bailey's campaign for Mayor of London but makes minimal references to the Conservative Party.

The website attacks Sadiq Khan's oversight of the authority following a second government bailout worth £1.8bn.

Mr Bailey's spokesman said: "Londoners have a right to know the truth."

The candidate said the current mayor was responsible for "wasting money" leading to TfL's financial state.

"Sadiq Khan is blaming Coronavirus for TfL's second bailout," Mr Bailey's campaign said.

"So with Sadiq Khan trying to avoid responsibility, Londoners have a right to know the truth."

The website makes no explicit reference to the Conservative party

Transport union TSSA has called for the website to be taken down immediately.

It called the page a "Conservative Party website masquerading as a neutral fact-checking site".

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said: "This politically-driven website full of lies is an absolute disgrace and should be taken down immediately."

TfL said passenger numbers have dropped by up to 90%

The website makes no explicit reference to the Conservative party or to Mr Bailey's campaign for mayor.

At the bottom of the page the site states it is "published by Kerry Halfpenny on behalf of Shaun Bailey".

The address given is the same as the Conservative campaign headquarters in London.

• Covid and Crossrail - why TfL's finances are precarious

• TfL has a fresh £1.8bn bailout - but at what cost?

During the Coronavirus pandemic TfL has received two bailouts from the government worth a combined £3.6bn.

TfL bosses previously said it would cost £5.7bn to keep services running for the next 18 months.

Mr Khan previously said TfL was spending £600m a month with hardly any income from commuters.

About 12 months before Coronavirus hit the UK, TfL reported just over £11bn of nominal debt.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "Deliberately lying to Londoners is becoming a regular habit for the Tory Mayoral candidate and his campaign.

"This website is fake news masquerading as 'facts'."The Tories must stop trying to take Londoners for fools."

The Mayoral and London Assembly elections will now take place on 6 May 2021 after being postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.