London Mayor Boris Johnson admitted on Wednesday there had been “disgusting excesses” in the City but warned the government it should not stifle economic recovery with burdensome regulation. He told members of the London Assembly the gloom around the capital had been excessive, and argued it was well placed to emerge from the downturn better off. It had the skilled labor, a unique location in the time zone and the “right language,” he said. Much depended on the government's continued commitment to the 39 billion pound budget to improve London's transport links. “I really think we won't get anywhere by talking up this recession,” he said. “This is the moment to invest in London ... not just because it will make us deliver jobs and be competitive now, but because it will make the city more competitive in the future.” Last week, the government was forced to step in and help prop up the banking system by announcing a 40 billion pound rescue package. The mayor said: “I think there is a very good argument for saying ... the events that we are seeing at the moment do not bear proper comparison to 1929 ... I think a more accurate comparison may be the sharp banking correction of 1907.” The 1907 banking crisis saw a run on banks in the United States caused by a retraction of market liquidity and a loss of confidence among depositors. Johnson called for lighter government regulation and less taxation of the financial sector. “There has been greed, there has been excess. There have been disgusting excesses, no doubt about it. “But I don't think our anger, resentment, schadenfreude, whatever you want to call it ... should lead the government to launch punitive regulatory raids upon the London banking system. “We should be very careful that in preparing for better regulation we do not inadvertently create the next crisis rather than solving the last one.” He added: “I think it is high time the government rationalized its proposals on taxation and came up with a plan that did not drive away FTSE 100 companies from these shores, from London, in the way that is happening at the moment.” The mayor pointed to investment and infrastructure opportunities, including housing developments, the Tube upgrade, the Cross Rail project, the Heathrow rail link, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and the 2012 Olympic Park.
