Hammersmith Bridge: Row ignites between Sadiq Khan and Conservative opponents over controversial closure

Tap above to see the video report by Political Correspondent Simon Harris

London mayor Sadiq Khan was today involved in heated clashes with Conservative opponents over the Hammersmith Bridge closure.

Cyclists and pedestrians were banned from the 130-year-old suspension bridge last month when cracks in the cast iron structure worsened during a heatwave.

The mayor claimed the government was ‘playing politics’ with the bridge and demanded ministers underwrite the estimated £141 repair bill.

But London Assembly Conservative member Tony Arbour accused Mr Khan of failing to show leadership and ‘fiddling while Barnes burns.’

The bridge closed to all motor traffic including buses in April 2019 after engineers began to fear its structural integrity was at risk.

The decision is causing gridlock on roads and forcing schoolchildren, hospital patients and commuters to daily undertake long journeys.