Tories attack Sadiq Khan over 'beach party' event established by Boris Johnson

16 January 2024 , 17:02

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The annual Royal Docks 'Summer Splash' sees one end of the docks in east London temporarily transformed into a free beach (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)

A Tory attack on Sadiq Khan over a community event they branded "wasteful" has fallen flat - after it was pointed out that it was launched by Boris Johnson.

The annual Royal Docks "beach party" also takes place under the path of Mr Johnson's £60million cable car vanity project. The annual Royal Docks 'Summer Splash' sees one end of the docks in east London temporarily transformed into a free beach.

For 20 days in July and August sandpits and a sectioned-off area of water are installed in the area for children and families to play and swim in safely. But a Conservative Party report said the cash spent on the event, enjoyed by tens of thousands of locals, was "wasted" and branded it a "pointless scheme."

Now City Hall has hit back, with a source noting the scheme was first launched in 2013, when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London, and has returned each year since. A source said: "The Tories in London are trying to distract from their terrible record in Government of soaring rents and mortgage bills and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. We certainly won't take lectures from London Tories who backed Liz Truss' disastrous mini budget, causing chaos for millions of Londoners."

The beach itself sits under the path of the £60million cable car - which Mr Johnson dreamed up to allow people to commute between the docks and North Greenwich, across the Thames. But within a year of it opening, Transport for London admitted it was only regularly used by four commuters.

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While popular with tourists at the weekend, the cable car - branded "the dangleway" by critics, remains largely empty for much of the week. Only in recent years has its popularity increased, after 2021 saw it go "viral" on TikTok and Instagram, where influencers posted pictures and videos of sunset views from the 300ft high vantage point.

Mikey Smith