Boris aide could step in as arts chief after clash with minister

Temporary option: culture adviser Munira Mirza may be made the Arts Council’s acting chairwoman

Boris Johnson's culture adviser could be installed temporarily in one of London's top arts jobs under emergency plans to tackle deadlock with the Government over the appointment.

Munira Mirza said she might be named acting chairwoman of the London Arts Council until the Mayor decides what course of action to take.

It comes after Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw rejected Boris Johnson's chosen candidate, former Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley.

The move would allow Mr Johnson to delay any permanent appointment until after the general election when a new government is in place.

Mr Bradshaw rejected the Mayor's nomination of Ms Wadley on the grounds that the interview process used to select her had breached the "Nolan" principles on fairness in public appointments. Mr Bradshaw's aides have also argued that Ms Wadley did not fully meet the job specifications.

The Mayor insists she was the best candidate for the job and has threatened to hold the post open until after polling day when, if the Tories win power, he expects to be able to install his choice without ministerial veto.

That prospect has now moved a step closer with Ms Mirza's admission that she could step in temporarily.

Answering London Assembly members' questions yesterday, she said an interim appointment from the London Arts Council was being considered and added: "I'm on the existing council. One of the options is it could be me."

Ms Mirza continued to defend the choice of Ms Wadley, saying she was the strongest candidate from four names put forward for final interview by the Mayor. He had the final say under measures agreed last year to give him influence over key appointments in London.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in