1. LONDONASSEMBLYLABOUR
Andrew Dismore AM
Dear Mayor Johnson,
Re Emirates Cable Car contract: Discrimination against nationalities
I welcome your announcement in response to my Questions today, that you
will renegotiate the clause in TfL’s contract with Emirates which discriminates
against Israeli nationals and companies.
However, you did not confirm, despite my request to you do so, that you
would ensure that Emirates were not imposing such terms in their other
contracts with businesses or sponsorship deals in the UK or elsewhere with
other parties.
The GLA should not be engaging in this or any other contracts with Emirates if
these clauses are part of their standard business practice. As part of the
renegotiation will you confirm with Emirates that they are not imposing such
terms as a matter of course elsewhere? If you are not prepared to raise this
with them, or if they will not so confirm, then you will be doing business with a
company that clearly discriminates against Israel and Israelis and you will be
seen to be condoning such discrimination which is in in breach of the law.
You must learn important lessons from this fiasco. The GLA group should not
be doing business with any firms that insert such clauses into contracts so as
to dictate British foreign policy and create illegal boycotts by stealth.
You should also now come clean and apologise to the 70,000 Israeli nationals
living in this country and to the Israeli Government for allowing such a contract
to be signed on your watch.
Please also answer the following questions, in addition to those I raised in my
letter of yesterday:
1. Why were the terms of the contract kept secret for two years?
Direct telephone: 020 7983 4031 Fax: 020 7983 4418 Email:
andrew.dismore@london.gov.uk
Our Ref: AD13/16/07/33
Date: 17 July 2013
Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
City Hall
The Queens Walk
London
SE1 2BR
City Hall
Queen’s Walk
London SE1 2AA
Switchboard: 020 7983 4000
Minicom: 020 7983 4458
Web: www.london.gov.uk

2. 2. Why did you not read the contract of one of your flagship projects prior
to signing?
3. Why did TfL do the deal with these terms in it, in the first place? Please
disclose to me the legal advice TfL received on the contract.
4. Will anyone at TfL be held to account for this major blunder?
5. Will you now review all GLA contracts to ensure that the GLA is in full
compliance with the Race Relations Act, Equality Act, competition law,
and EU Trading agreements?
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Dismore
Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
Direct telephone: 020 7983 4031 Fax: 020 7983 4418 Email:
andrew.dismore@london.gov.uk