12 April 2011
The prime minister has led tributes to London deputy mayor Sir Simon Milton, whose death aged 49 was announced last night.
Milton, who was also chief of staff to mayor Boris Johnson, was previously chair of the Local Government Association and leader of Westminster City Council.
David Cameron said: ‘Simon was an extraordinarily talented leader of local government in London. He was a pioneering leader of Westminster City Council, and in recent years a tower of strength to the mayor and his administration at City Hall.
‘In all the years I have known him he was always kind, reliable, trustworthy and incredibly hard-working. He was in public life and public service for all the right reasons. He still had a huge amount to give and a great future ahead of him. He will be greatly missed.’
Johnson described Milton as ‘a wonderful colleague and friend [who] will be much missed by everyone who was involved in public life in this city’.
Westminster’s chief executive Mike More said Milton’s ‘exemplary leadership’ had been ‘one of the main reasons I sought the role of chief executive’.
There were also tributes from other parties. The London Assembly’s Liberal Democrat chair Dee Doocey said: ‘In his dealings with both colleagues and political opponents he was decent, reasoned and concerned to achieve the best output for London.’
London Councils’ Labour leader Jules Pipe said: ‘London government has lost a true champion. Nobody has done more to improve relations between City Hall and town halls across the capital.’
