From a letter of explanation written by City Hall’s monitoring officer, the man who sees that things are done properly:

Mr Lynton Crosbie (sic) had been given a security pass, allowing access to City Hall. However, once Sir Edward Lister, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and Deputy for Planning became aware of that situation (on or around 8 July 2012) he gave instructions that the pass should be rescinded and that passes should only be granted (on approval by Directors or Head of Paid Service only) to those involved in GLA or GLA Group business.

The letter was written in reply to an inquiry by London Assembly Labour group leader Len Duvall. Lynton Crosby is, of course, the man running Boris Johnson’s 2012 election campaign, just as he ran his 2008 one. As the letter implies, he has no involvement with Greater London Authority business, notwithstanding his obvious interest in the political fortunes of Boris Johnson. So why was he given a City Hall pass in the first place?

I asked the Mayor’s press office to explain precisely what had occurred, sending them a number of questions. A response took the form of a brief statement from “a GLA spokesperson”:

An admin officer mistakenly approved a security pass, which was swiftly withdrawn when senior officials were alerted. Like any other member of the public, Lynton Crosby is able to visit City Hall and does so occasionally – as does the Labour candidate and his team. He has no access, however, to GLA resources.

This mystifies me slightly. I didn’t doubt Crosby’s right to visit City Hall and neither did I mention Ken Livingstone. And what sort of access had Crosby’s pass given him? I have a GLA media pass – at the time of writing, anyway – which entitles me to enter City Hall without having to go through security, and lets me into the small media room in the basement (I never go in there, by the way. It’s full of machines that I don’t understand). It doesn’t get me in to the main, non-public parts of the building such as the floors where the politicians, mayoral team and GLA officers work. For that, you need a different sort of pass, such as those provided to City Hall employees. What sort of pass was Crosby given?

Obtaining my media pass began with asking a senior external communications person to authorise it. A form was filled in, my photograph was taken and my application sent for the necessary processing and signing off. It was successful because, I presume, I and my (journalistic) business with the GLA were known about and clear. I didn’t just stroll up to a passing admin officer and ask him or her to sort it out for me. I had to approach an appropriate person of authority.

Surely, Lynton Crosby must have done the same. Or perhaps an appropriate person of authority offered to arrange a pass for him. Who might that person have been?

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