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Councillor Ian Clement has formally resigned as Leader of Bexley council, after agreeing to take up a post working under the newly elected Mayor of London.

In an Annual Meeting of the Council, acting leader Cllr Teresa O'Neill was formally elected as his replacement.

Cllr Teresa O'Neill

In a press statement she said she was "honoured to be chosen by my colleagues...and will do everything I can to serve the best interests of all the people of Bexley."

She went on to describe herself as "a south London girl".

'Full confidence'

Talking about Cllr Clement's departure to City Hall, Teresa O'Neill said: "I have full confidence that he will do his best to serve London based on his work in Bexley."

The new role Cllr Clements takes up under Boris Johnson is that of Deputy Mayor, Government Relations.

He first became Leader of Bexley in 2006, and a member of the Council since the late 1990's. He said: "the decision to leave was a very difficult one, but I believe you can only do one job really well."

Cllr Gareth Bacon

"I feel very honoured and proud to have served as Leader of the Council and can honestly say that I have enjoyed every minute of the job. I am very pleased that the Mayor has invited me to join his team and I am now looking forward to my new role."

By-election

Mr Clement's resignation leaves a vacancy on the Council. A by-election to fill this vacancy will be announced soon.

At the Mayoral and London council elections, Cllr Gareth Bacon, Bexley's Cabinet member for the Environment, was elected to the London Assembly as a London-wide member.