CALLS for the London Fire Authority chairman to be sacked will be made if he fails to cut his spending habits following the introduction of new regulations.

The expenses claims of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) members will be published more regularly after it was revealed the committee chairman and Mayor of Barnet Brian Coleman charged a taxi fare of almost £400 to the taxpayer.

In what has been described as a “radical change”, members will now be required to report their expenses and allowances quarterly instead of annually.

It is hoped the increased transparency will curtail the apparent air of unaccountability that critics claim led to Mr Coleman raking up a single fee of £396 for his return journey to a Lord Mayor's banquet in November.

Labour group leader Navin Shah introduced the new measures at the annual meeting of the LFEPA, and said the aim was to create more accountability by bringing the figures into the public domain.

He said: “This will enable public scrutiny of how taxpayers' money is being spent, that payments and claims will be reported and published online, avoiding the need for freedom of information requests.

“There have been instances of excessive taxi claims by Mr Coleman and I am keen the reputation of London Fire Brigade is not tarnished by perceived or real excesses or misuse of public funds.

“There was no opposition to this, which I am pleased about, as it is about cultivating good and honest practices and I hope offenders like the chairman will think twice.”

“It is a matter of shame and it brings the authority into disrepute,” said Mr Shah.

“Whether this will change his habits, well, you have to ask if a leopard changes its spots.

“I will be applying to the Mayor [of London Boris Johnson] and he needs to think very seriously about the action he takes. If the chairman carries on like this, quite frankly he should be sacked.”

When Mr Coleman was contacted about his latest taxi fare claim by the Fire Brigade Union, which has called for his resignation, he stated that he never commented "on such matters".

Mr Coleman, who is also the London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, has been embroiled in a series of controversies about his taxi claims, most notably when he spent more than £10,000 on fares in 2007.

The Times Series has tried to make contact with Mr Coleman and is awaiting a reply.