Crossrail welcomed - but concerns expressed over London's taxpayer bearing the costs

Commenting on the announcement that the Crossrail scheme has now been given the go-ahead, Chairman of London Councils, Councillor Merrick Cockell, said:

"Crossrail should bring huge benefits to London, and by proxy, to the whole UK economy. Because of this, we are deeply concerned by the Mayor's comments earlier today that the risks of any overrun will be borne by his office - this means that London's council taxpayers could be the ones bearing the risk.

This is unacceptable. As so many people around the country stand to benefit from Crossrail, we are calling on the Mayor and government to guarantee that London's council tax payers will not be expected to bear the costs of any overrun.

A world class city like London needs world class transport - and the government appears to have accepted this argument. But it is important that Londoners don't again find themselves shouldering the burden of a grand project that benefits the whole country. The government and the Mayor need to resolve this - if London is to remain the engine of the UK's economy, then sustained investment in our transport infrastructure is vital."

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was commenting on Crossrail on today's Radio 4 programme The World at One. He stated that the risk of any overrun on the project would be borne by the Mayor of London - this means the cost could then be passed onto London's council taxpayers.

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