Sadiq Khan's US trip cost taxpayer £35,000

The London mayor visited a cannabis farm in Los Angeles

Sadiq Khan's five-day trip to the US cost the taxpayer at least £34,263, City Hall says.

London's mayor was accompanied by eight officials with ground transport costing the most (£21,108), according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Business-class flights were provided by United Airlines, with only taxes and fees of £2,802 payable.

The mayor visited New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles during May's trip to "bang the drum for London".

City Hall's previous occupant Boris Johnson led a delegation to the US in 2015, which cost the taxpayer nearly £40,000 - including about £15,000 on flights - according to an FOI request.

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During the trip, Mr Khan sought to boost tourism to the capital, develop links with technology firms and encourage further investment from Hollywood.

Sadiq Khan met with Hillary Clinton during his whistle-stop tour

He also announced a new London Drugs Commission would look at whether to decriminalise cannabis in the UK.

Two deputy mayors, Rajesh Agrawal and Justine Simons, also flew to San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively for engagements and meetings.

Eleven UK-based journalists and two based in the US also joined the trip.

"We anticipate any additional expense claims will be submitted in the coming weeks," the information governance officer wrote.

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