Sadiq Khan has taken a 10% pay cut and called on Boris Johnson to bail out local authorities facing funding black holes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities need help as they face a shortfall of income from business and council tax, the London mayor said.

Mr Khan warned that a funding shortfall of almost £500m in the capital could result in cuts to the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade (LFB), Transport for London (TfL) and the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Amid this challenging climate, the Labour mayor said he was taking an immediate reduction to his £152,734 salary, cutting it by almost £15,300.

Pay for senior appointments at City Hall has also been frozen, Mr Khan announced.

Mr Khan said: “Londoners did the right thing to tackle COVID-19 by following the rules, staying at home and helping to save lives.

“But now the government is punishing them with a new era of austerity. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on London’s public finances, which were in great shape before the pandemic.”

Mr Khan said that TfL’s fares income had “dropped by more than 90%” and that local business rates and council tax income had “fallen off a cliff”, making this “the worst possible time for a return to austerity”.

He continued: “Unless ministers act, the current number of police officers will need to be reduced and it will be impossible to tackle youth violence or make the changes to the London Fire Brigade that are desperately needed after the awful Grenfell Tower tragedy.”

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