Sadiq Khan may have collected a knighthood – but he is still missing a czar. It is now three months since Amy Lamé announced she was standing down as the Mayor’s ‘Night Czar’ and a successor is yet to be found. Lamé role was to champion London’s nightlife – so it is a shame then that, on her watch, more than a quarter of the capital’s nightclubs closed.
Still, that didn’t stop Khan from signing off multiple inflation-busting pay-hikes, including a 40 per cent increase just after the 2021 mayoral election. Lamé’s final salary – after eight years in the role – eventually topped out more than £132,000 a year. She eventually quit in October but was back in the headlines in November after claiming that the closure of the gay nightclub Heaven was due to ‘institutional homophobia’ – rather than the fact that a woman was allegedly raped in the vicinity of the venue by a member of security staff. Well done Amy.
Undeterred by past controversies, Lamé presses on. The BBC continues to employ her as a presenter for an undisclosed sum, refusing to publicly rebuke her for the aforementioned Heaven controversy. And today Steerpike can reveal Lamé’s latest gig: setting up her own ‘global consultancy’ called – get this – ’24hr Cities.’ On LinkedIn, she brags that as night czar, she worked ‘to ensure that London thrives as a 24-hour city, keeping it vibrant, safe, and diverse from 6pm to 6am’.
Given she averaged one of her much vaunted ‘night surgeries’ only once every two-and-a-months, they really must have been productive affairs. Lamé adds that ‘I am a specialist in night time policy, engagement, strategy, and diplomacy, and I have established this unique local, national, and global leadership role for the UK’s capital city.’ Well, that’s one way to look at it.
An alternative view is provided by London’s actual Assembly Members (AMs). Alex Wilson, Reform’s AM, told Mr S that the new gig was ‘quite remarkable, given that on her watch as London’s “night czar” pubs and clubs closed in London at the fastest rate in the country.’ Neil Garratt, Tory AM added: ‘I hope her new clients get better value for their money than the last one.’ Ouch…
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