The Prince of Darkness comes to town

Boris has appointed Tim Parker as the capital’s ‘First Deputy Mayor’ (you may remember that Johnson is collecting quite a number of deputies) on a salary of just £1.

If Parker’s name doesn’t ring a bell, let the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, Bob Crow, refresh your memory:

“Tim Parker has a reputation as a private-equity asset- stripper and has been dubbed the Prince of Darkness by unions that have encountered his methods in the past.”

Crow’s opposite number at the GMB union, Paul Kenny, added:

“This is a scary moment for London’s commuters.”

And our dear ex mayor, Ken Livingstone, concluded:

“The appointment of Tim Parker as first deputy Mayor shows clearly the path of decline  of London represented by Boris Johnson’s administration.

“Mr Parker’s record as a downsizing cost-cutter is the exact reverse of the management of large-scale investment projects London requires.

“His record of brutality and heartlessness towards workers in his own companies is totally unsuitable for dealing with the  complex communities of London.”

Parker’s time at the AA resulted in around 3,500 job losses.

Mayors, mayors everywhere

Still no word on the bus, but Boris has today announced no fewer than three more Deputy Mayors.

As we learnt over the weekend Ray Lewis was named Deputy Mayor for Young People, but didn’t qualify to be London’s statutory deputy as he isn’t a member of the assembly. Boris today named two more specialist deputies and a bonefide Deputy who does qualify for the title.

Richard Barnes, the multilingual Conservative assembly member who has spent years living Denmark, Sweden and Norway, gets the official number two job. He is a member of both the Metropolitan Police Authority and the North West London Strategic Health Authority.

Also appointed is Kit Malthouse, another Conservative assembly member, famed for his five year long battle to ban prostitution ads from phone boxes and another crusade to banish filth, when he campaigned for an end to the ‘homes for votes’ scandal involving Tory councillor Shirley Porter.

The appointments continued with Ian Clement, another Deputy Mayor, this time for Government Relations. Clement’s day jobs is at the Royal Mail, where he is a manager.

Finally, a close associate of David Cameron, Sir Simon Milton becomes Senior Adviser, Planning. Milton married his partner Robert Davis, another Tory councillor and former Lord Mayor of Wesminster in a civil ceremony last year.