Sadiq Khan has been accused of “taking Londoners for fools” after it was revealed that the cost of the Mayor’s staff in City Hall has increased by 60 percent since he took office two years ago.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said he “makes no apologies for his work”, despite the wage bill climbing from £3.8m in 2016 to £6m in 2018.

Campaigners said that this added £2.2m spend compared to Boris Johnson’s last year in office could’ have funded 36 police officers.

The increasing bill is partly due to the Mayor giving pay rises to staff, including to workers who were already earning over £100,000.

The salary of Mr Khan’s chief of staff, David Bellamy, has grown by over £5,000 since the Mayor took office, increasing from £131,901 in 2016 to £137,243 in 2018.