Pressure group to 'dispel Johnson buffoonery'
Tuesday, 21 Aug 2007 09:22
Boris Johnson is expected to be the Conservative candidate for the mayor of London
A left-wing pressure group will today publish a dossier it says reveals Boris Johnson's true status as a "type of Norman Tebbit".
In comments disclosed to the Guardian, the Compass group has said it wants to dispel the 'myth' that Mr Johnson is a loveable rogue and something of a "buffoon".
The Conservative MP for Henley on Thames is likely to win the Conservative nomination for the mayor of London elections in May where he will come up against Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone.
He has launched a website, backboris.com, in which he says he wishes to "make this city [London] greater still".
Through Mr Johnson's extensive portfolio of journalism and TV appearances, Compass said that it was important people "know the truth about Boris Johnson and the politics he represents through his own words".
The dossier says: "Boris Johnson is frequently presented in the press merely as a buffoon.
"It is certainly true he has never shown any serious managerial experience or competence, that he regularly makes huge mistakes and reverses positions, and this is an extremely serious impediment to running a huge city such as London.
"But as is shown here his buffoonery conceals a hard line right wing set of views - a type of Norman Tebbit in clown's uniform."
Included in the report is Mr Johnson's alleged support for the Iraq war, George Bush, fox hunting and grammar schools, the latter of which is currently a divide within the Tory party.