By Daisy Busel
Sadiq Khan has “failed to keep the public safe” amid the coronavirus crisis, according to his mayoral election rival Shaun Bailey.
The Conservative representative criticised the Mayor’s decision to close certain London Underground stations and reduce Tube services.
Mr Bailey told talkRADIO’s Julia Hartley-Brewer: “Very early on I asked him, why are you closing certain stations? And if you are going to close them will you be redeploying that staff to make sure you do not cut capacity too much?
“When you’re seeing messages from nurses and doctors and other people travelling on the network saying they are afraid because it’s impossible to socially distance, the Mayor should have taken action and he’s failed to that and he’s put people at risk.”
Mr Khan has maintained that he cannot run more services due to the number of Transport for London staff who are off sick or self-isolating.
The Labour Mayor has meanwhile urged the government to encourage the public to wear non-medical face masks when they are unable to keep a safe distance from others.
He tweeted: “Evidence shows face coverings can slow the spread of #COVID19. We are now an international outlier for not recommending their use.”
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