Goldsmith vows to scrap staff perks to fight terror

The policy would be paid for by scrapping free passes available to friends and relatives of Transport for London (TfL) staff, potentially setting up a fresh battle with the trade unions.

Mr Goldsmith insisted that “tens of millions” could be found by cutting the perk in order to fund the extra officers to ease people’s concerns about a terror attack on the capital’s transport network.

But TfL estimates the perk only costs £5 million-£7 million and London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was campaigning with Mr Goldsmith, dismissed the possible removal of the pass as a “relatively trivial detail”.

Mr Goldsmith claims the “bulk” of the £25 million cost of the extra officers would come through reviewing the “friends and family” nominee passes available to TfL staff.

All TfL staff will continue to receive free travel, but Mr Goldsmith proposed removing the perk allowing workers to also nominate one person living at their home address for a taxpayer-funded travelcard.

Mr Goldsmith said it was an “unfair situation” andadded that the “money that would, in my view, be better spent providing 500 additional British Transport Police on our Tube network”.