At long last, and not a day too soon, it transpires that London’s ‘night czar’ is standing down. Amy Lamé will leave her City Hall role at the end of the month after, er, eight years in the job on a six-figure annual salary – despite receiving a 40 per cent pay hike part way through. Sadiq Khan’s nightlife guru – who presided over the closure of almost half of the cities nightclubs – has said she felt it was the ‘right time’ to ‘move on’, but added it had been a ‘real privilege to serve Londoners’. Mr S can’t imagine the feeling is mutual…
Lamé announced her resignation today, stating:
It has been a real privilege to serve Londoners and deliver for the mayor, and I’m deeply proud of what has been achieved in the face of so many challenges… Cities across the UK and the world have created their own champions for life at night in recent years, and it’s been inspiring to work alongside them. Despite the ongoing challenges that it faces, I know that London’s life at night will continue to evolve and I look forward to seeing the work that has already started to deliver the mayor’s manifesto pledges, as I begin my next chapter.
The outgoing night czar leaves quite the legacy behind her. Not only was she the inspiration behind the #LameLondon hashtag after rage at the early closure of venues in the city left Londoners frustrated – but she has been a source of outrage after it emerged that the BBC DJ was most recently on a salary of over, um, £130,000 a year. Crikey…
In 2020, Lamé gave an interview to the Observer in which she stated: ‘I will be judged by the work that I do.’ And indeed she has. Last month it transpired that the night czar had taken six weeks of ‘unplanned sick leave’ this year but still mysteriously still managed to host her BBC radio show, before becoming a no-show at a recent City Hall Economy, Culture and Skills Committee meeting on, er, London’s nighttime economy. Sounds like that six-figure salary was money well spent, eh?
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