Agencies/London
London mayor Boris Johnson has hit out at “trivial” and “hysterical” questions about his personal integrity and ambitions to be prime minister.
In an interview with the BBC’s Eddie Mair, a clearly uncomfortable Johnson was forced to deny being a “nasty piece of work” and refused to discuss allegations about his private life.
The intense exchanges came after the Tory politician agreed to take part in an in-depth documentary about his life, due to be aired by the corporation today evening.
Johnson suggested he had been effectively “blackmailed” into participating by journalist Michael Cockerell. He said. “I thought on the whole it was probably wiser given that it was going to happen anyway to try to say something rather than leave the field clear.”
He appeared thrown as the interviewer grilled him on his sacking from The Times more than two decades ago for making up a quote.
“I mildly sandpapered something someone had said. It is very embarrassing, and I am very sorry about it,” Johnson said.
Mair, standing in for Andrew Marr on his Sunday morning show, then pressed Johnson over whether he lied to Tory leader Michael Howard about allegations of an extra-marital affair in 2004. “I never had any conversation with Michael Howard about that matter. I do not propose to go into all that again,” the mayor replied.
Insisting that he was talking about “integrity”, Mair turned to a 1990 telephone conversation Johnson had with one of his friends who was demanding the private address of a News of the World journalist. A recording of the call suggested Johnson had agreed to supply the details, even though his friend indicated he wanted to have the reporter beaten up for smearing his family. Johnson stressed that “nothing eventuated” from the conversation.