CHEAPER bus fares have been rolled out to people on income support across London.

But the Tory group leader in the London Assembly believes the moral price of the reductions is too high.

Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, announced on Monday, August 20, that people on income support could travel half price and that there would be a ten per cent reduction on regular fares by the end of September.

The reductions have been funded through a deal with a Venezuelan oil company to provide a 20 per cent discount on fuel for the London bus fleet in return for expert advice on the country's infrastructure.

Mr Livingstone said: "The agreement which makes this possible will also benefit the people of Venezuela, by providing expertise in areas of city management, in which London is a world leader.

"London and Venezuela will be exchanging those things in which they are rich, to the mutual benefit of both."

Angie Bray, leader of the Conservative group on the Greater London Assembly, said: "This deal makes me uncomfortable, Ken is exploiting poorer countries to win votes for himself and that will make Londoners uncomfortable.

"He signed the petition for Make Poverty History enthusiastically and yet now he has turned around and taken from the poor.

"He needs to be looking at how he structures his transport policy as we should be able to reduce fares without having to go cap in hand to another country."