Nick Raynsford, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, has today criticised Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s pledge to two new river crossings as a ‘deathbed repentance’.

Nick went on to say, “One of Boris Johnson’s first actions as Mayor almost four years ago was to cancel the planned Thames Gateway Bridge, linking Becton to Thamesmead. Since then, residents of East and Southeast London have had to endure severe problems in getting across the river, with frequent blockages and delays affecting the Blackwall Tunnel, and no other fixed crossing for vehicles between Rotherhithe and Dartford.

“Now just months before an election, Boris Johnson has effectively admitted the catastrophic error he made in 2008 by cancelling the Thames Gateway Bridge Scheme. His deathbed repentance on the need for new river crossings is too little and too late.

Nick added, “While the Silvertown link is very welcome and will help to relieve the acute congestion which frequently affects the Blackwall Tunnel, the Mayor’s proposals for a ferry at Gallions Reach is an unsatisfactory alternative for the Thames Gateway Bridge. It also poses serious questions about the future of the existing Woolwich Ferry. Will this continue as a free service, or will it be subject to tolls or possible closure under the Mayor’s proposals?

Over the past three and a half years the Mayor has failed to tackle the huge problem of inadequate cross-river links east of Tower Bridge. His last-minute change of heart will not convince the millions of people who have had to suffer the consequences of his inaction since his election”.