British MP axed over affair
2004-11-14 10:35
London - Boris Johnson, one of the most colourful figures in British politics, was axed on Saturday from the front bench of the main opposition Conservative Party amid press reports he had lied about
an affair.
Conservative leader Michael Howard telephoned Johnson during the
day to tell him that he would no longer be the Tories' spokesperson on
arts policy "in view of the fresh allegations" to appear in Sunday
newspapers, a spokesperson for Howard said.
Johnson, 40, who will revert to being a backbench Conservative
member of the lower house of parliament for the safe Tory seat of
Henley, west of London, was also dropped as a vice-chairman of the
party, the spokesperson added.
The tousled-haired, Oxford-educated politician is also editor of
the Spectator, a popular weekly magazine among Britain's chattering
classes, and well known for his TV appearances and predilection for
bicycle riding.
Despite his eccentric mannerism, some political analysts saw
Johnson as a potential Conservative leader, as the once-mighty
party tries to recover from its 1997 election defeat to Prime
Minister Tony Blair and his Labour Party.
Last weekend Johnson, who is married with four children, denied
reports that he had an affair with a Spectator columnist,
Petronella Wyatt, calling the allegations "an inverted pyramid of
piffle".
Pursuing the story this Sunday, however, the News of the World
and the Mail on Sunday said Wyatt had undergone an abortion last
month as a result of an affair that had been running for four
years.
"Michael Howard was right to sack Mr Johnson," the Mail on
Sunday said in an editorial. "He made the serious mistake of lying
when he was caught out, rather than owning up."
Two months ago it was reported that the Spectator's publisher Kimberley Fortier, who is married with one child and expecting
another, has been the lover of Home Secretary David Blunkett.
The Spectator's associate editor Rod Liddle, formerly editor of
BBC radio's flagship public affairs show Today, meanwhile had a
very public bust-up with his wife over a fling with a 23-year-old
assistant at the magazine.
Last month Johnson was at the centre of a furore over a
Spectator editorial that accused the people of Liverpool of "wallowing" in grief over the execution in Iraq of British hostage
Ken Bigley, a native of the northern port city.
Howard told Johnson to go up to Liverpool to apologise, with mixed results.