Outgoing chairman of Covent Garden Market Authority Leif Mills was praised by his successor Brenda Dean and Defra minister Lord Whitty at a retirement function on Tuesday.
Dean, who like Mills has a background in trade unions, said: “Leif is a man of many parts and a very hard act to follow. He has created an enormous esprit de coeur and always showed genuine concern for the people who depend on the market for their livelihoods. “
Whitty expressed his thanks for the “breadth of Leif’s network”, which he said had brought all kinds of information his way during his spell in office, as well as providing valuable insight for predecessors Jack Cunningham and Nick Brown.
He added that in Mills’ seven year tenure, “progress has not always been as fast as we would have hoped. I apologise that successive ministers have probably made it more difficult and haven’t given as clear a way forward as we would have liked.” But he also stressed that New Covent Garden will continue to be an important feature of the south bank of London. “We have various discussions to have and decisions to make, but we still have a very solid operation there,” he said.
Mills hailed Whitty as “the best market minister we’ve got”, adding: “Of course he’s the only market minister we’ve got.” He acknowledged that in certain areas there has been a lack of progress and that uncertainty about the future of the market and the government’s plans to divest its interest has not disappeared. “But we have also achieved a few things,” Mills said. “More than £8m has been invested in the infrastructure of the market and Lord Whitty’s predecessor Nick Brown gave us the crucial commitment that the government would only sell the market as a going concern. The market is functioning, efficient and the right foundations are in place. There are problems, which have to be managed if progress is to be made,” he said.
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