Sadiq Khan urged to explain where £30m to halt Tube strikes came from

Sadiq Khan is under increasing pressure to explain where he got the 'mystery' £30million to appease union barons and halt Tube strikes - as he considers introducing 'dynamic pricing'.

Limited to no Underground services were expected this week due to a planned walk out by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union until the Mayor of London managed to convince them to suspend the strike at the last minute.

It comes as Mr Khan is expected to announce next week whether or not tube and bus fares will increase in line with national rail rises, which are due to increase by 4.9 per cent on March 3.  

TfL is said to have a 'working assumption' there will be a rise of 4 per cent and Mr Khan confirmed the transport authority was looking into 'dynamic pricing' which could see fares rise at peak times.

However, Mr Khan said there may be insufficient time to introduce the new pricing scheme as part of the annual fares increase.

Last year, TfL fares were hiked by 5.9 per cent while bus fares increased by 10p to £1.75 - which remains the cheapest in the country.

READ MORE:  Sadiq Khan is accused of opening the door for MORE Tube strikes as senior people at TfL feel completely 'p****d off' after he found £30million from 'magic money tree' to halt this week's walkout

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has called on the Mayor of London to explain how he suddenly found £30million after central government bailed out TfL to the tune of £6.5billion since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The transport authority was on course to reach financial sustainability by the end of last year after struggling through the pandemic, but has been forced to delay £90m worth of maintenance work on the network due to lack of funding. 

The RMT union, which is headed up by Mich Lynch, had planned the walk outs over a below-inflation pay offer of five per cent from TfL.

Mr Khan has been slammed for opening the door to further protests after Aslef, which represents tube drivers, were told there was no money to fund further pay rises as they accepted the 5 per cent pay increase. 

Aslef are said to be furious that more money was stumped to stop the RMT strikes.

A source told The Times: 'Their union told them in good faith that 5 per cent was the final offer from Transport for London (TfL) and that there was absolutely no more money.'

They added: 'For Khan to suddenly find the magic money tree for the RMT has undermined everything. Very senior people at TfL feel thoroughly p****d off because it has made them look like they lied to Aslef.'

READ MORE: Tube drivers demand 12% pay rise after Sadiq Khan finds £30m to avert week-long walkouts - as union says mayor has 'found the magic money tree' and its members 'now expect to share the fruit' 

Another union source said the move had 'poisoned' industrial relations with Mr Khan, telling the same paper: 'There will certainly now be more strikes ahead of the mayoral elections. Khan has been incredibly badly advised...

'There will be no trust on either side of the negotiating table in future.'

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: 'The absolute worst outcome for London taxpayers and businesses would have been a week of strike action this week causing huge disruption in the capital. 

'The hospitality industry alone has warned of a £50m loss of income if strikes had lasted throughout the week.

'The Mayor has always said that negotiation and talking with workers is the best way to settle disputes. This is in contrast to the Government’s approach which has seen years of strikes across national rail, the NHS and education.

'Negotiations have been ongoing related to the annual London Underground pay review for 2023-24, a time of exceptionally high inflation. 

'As agreement could not be reached within the resources available to TfL, the Mayor has taken the decision to allocate additional funding to TfL as part of the City Hall budget process.

'This is consistent with the Mayor providing additional funding for London Fire Brigade and City Hall staff for 2023-24, and the Home Office similarly providing additional funding for police pay in 2023-24. 

READ MORE: Strikes by London Underground workers set to cripple Tube services are OFF

'High inflation meant that appropriate pay rises could not be implemented within the budgets available to these organisations.'

Keith Prince, City Hall Conservatives Transport Spokesman, told MailOnline Sadiq Khan owes London's an explanation as to where the money came from.

He said: 'Sadiq Khan promised to be London's most transparent mayor yet refuses to confirm how much he paid the RMT to stop strike action on the Tube this week.

'This isn't Sadiq Khan's money. This money belongs to Londoners. Sadiq Khan owes Londoners an explanation as to where this money came from and how much his deal with unions will cost and its impact on passenger fares.

'The Government has provided over £6bn in bailouts to TfL in recent years. TfL has £15bn in debts and Sadiq Khan and TfL continually cry poor. Clearly Sadiq Khan just can't manage money.'