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The London Mayor faces embarrassment today after it emerged his City Hall staff believed Britain’s exit from the EU was a bigger crisis than the pandemic, which has killed more than 600,000 people across the world. Just eight days before schools were forced to close their doors to fight the outbreak, the Greater London Authority put Brexit, housing supply and the London Plan at the top of its list for the Corporate Risk Register, rating it as 12.

Whereas the coronavirus crisis was rated a 9 in the plans, agreed on March 10 – just weeks before the UK went in to lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Susan Hall, Leader of the GLA Conservatives, launched an attack on Mr Khan’s and said his officials clearly hadn’t “understood the severity” of the pandemic.

She told The Sun: “Sadiq Khan’s administration at City Hall clearly hasn’t understood the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s shocking that 13 days before the country went into lockdown, City Hall thought that Brexit was a bigger risk to London than coronavirus.

“Worse still, they haven’t even updated this vital risk assessment to recognise the huge threat this cruel virus still poses to our city.

“The Mayor needs to get his priorities right, end his Brexit obsession, and put Londoners’ safety above all else.”

But the Mayor’s Office defended the decision, saying the risk register was commissioned in mid-January before the crisis was well known in the UK.

They said the decisions on the recent audit were made in February.

The Corporate Risk Register, is produced twice a year, and will be published again in October.

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A spokesman for the Mayor of London insisted the coronavirus crisis remains Mr Khan’s top priority now.

He said: “The Mayor has been clear in both his words and his actions over the last four months that the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest health and economic challenge London has faced since the Second World War.

“He has been working tirelessly to lead London’s response to the pandemic, stop the spread of the virus and now to start rebuilding the capital’s economy.

“The potential impact of the coronavirus on London monitored and assessed from January when an operational group was established by Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience Fiona Twycross.

“The Mayor also assembled his Advisory Group of senior officials and health specialists – including the Deputy Chief Medical Officer – on March 2 to ensure the GLA was fully prepared for the impact of coronavirus and that the right advice and guidance was available for Londoners.

“The Corporate Risk Register produced for the March Audit Panel clearly lists Coronavirus as a substantial threat to the services and operations of the GLA which demonstrated just how seriously City Hall was taking the crisis.

“This was despite only 13 people in the UK testing positive for the virus when it was submitted on 23 February.”

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