Tory politicians boycott investigation into the impact of Brexit on London after Sadiq Khan claims

Conservative politicians have boycotted a City Hall investigation into the impact of Brexit on London after Sadiq Khan claimed the capital was £30bn worse off. The London Assembly probe into the fallout from Britain's departure from the EU was due to hear evidence from five witnesses. But the two Tories on the Economy Committee, Neil Garratt and Andrew Boff, refused to take part. The Conservatives claimed the investigation symbolised 'everything that is wrong with Sadiq Khan and Labour in London'. "City Hall Conservatives won’t attend this Committee investigation," said Neil Garratt. He added: "It makes no sense to revisit Brexit. We need to look forward not back. We think this is a waste of time and a distraction." The boycott came as the mayor unveiled the findings of a separate report commissioned by his office. The research by Cambridge Econometrics claimed the average Londoner was £3,400 worse off because of Brexit. The Mayor is expected to use the findings in a keynote speech at a banquet this evening in the City of London.

City Hall officials said the mayor is expected to say: "Rather than dodging and ducking this issue, it’s incumbent on all of us to have an honest and mature discussion about the best way forward. It’s now obvious that Brexit isn’t working.

"The hard-line version of Brexit we’ve ended up with is dragging our economy down and pushing up the cost of living.

"It’s making food more expensive, adding to the acute pressures on households and having an ongoing detrimental impact on industries that are crucial to our success – such as hospitality, construction and financial services.

"I’d rather not be talking about Brexit again. But part of being the Mayor of London is about standing up for our city.

We’ve got to be frank – Brexit is simply not a peripheral concern that we can leave in the past – it’s a key contributor to the cost-of-living crisis right now and it’s resulting in lost opportunities, lost business and lost income at a time when people and companies can least afford it."

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…