1. He was NOT and NEVER has been a magistrate - as claimed as recently as yesterday by Boris Johnson trying to defend his choice of Lewis as his Deputy Mayor of London and...
2. Scotland Yard investigated a string of complaints against Ray Lewis - but each time decided to take no further action.
This sleaze scandal doesn't just reflect badly on Boris Johnson who suggested he didn't need to vet Lewis because he'd already been vetted as a magistrate!!
A spokesperson for Boris Johnson actually claimed this afternoon that Lewis has 'gone through the strongest vetting process outside MI5' ...oh yeah?!
More seriously, 'Lewisgate' once again calls into question the judgement - or rather complete lack of it - by David Cameron, the Tory choice for Prime Minister.
The now shamed Ray Lewis actually introduced Cameron as 'my mate Dave' at the launch of Boris Johnson's campaign to become Mayor of London.
Cameron described Mr Lewis as
'the most inspirational person he had met since becoming Leader of the Conservatives...'Ray's best mate Dave may be regretting his choice of 'mates'...
UPDATE: You can now see Ray Lewis's resignation speech at the BBC in which he blames the media for acting like 'a modern schoolchild who won't accept the concept of delayed gratification' and explains that it is splitting hairs to say he is not a magistrate as he has passed all the interviews and has a letter to say he will be recommended to be one.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has warned that London's problems won't be solved if he only appints 'antiseptic yes-men' and has spoken of Mr Lewis's 'god-given abilities'. Boris appeals for Mr Lewis to be left alone, so that he can clear his name and be re-appointed Deputy Mayor.
Some hope Boris.
UPDATE 2: Daily Mail splash tomorrow - Boris: the wheels are coming off already.
12 comments:
Phil - Boris won. Get over it.
Boris won and he has lsot his second advisor in 8 weeks and romour has it the Cleverly or Barnes pn the London Assembly could be next watch this space as his administartion crumbles. There is a momentum building up here Boris must be praying for the summer break.
michael oakishott (is that really how you spell your name??)
tell that to the Daily Mail...see my update.
ps...welcome back!
anon:
yes, i was on holiday when Boris's first high-profile appointment was forced to fall on his sword...me thinks a bit of a pattern emerging here...
michael oakishott:
yes, Labour lost after a relentless 'anti-sleaze' campaign...that's democracy i guess.
yet after just two months in office, Boris is in chaos, and already tainted by sleaze by the man who Call-Me-Dave Cameron says is the 'most inspiring person he has met...'
is this what Londoners voted for??
Be serious Anon, people voted for Boris inspite of his fairly obvious stupidity. The guy is obviously bulletproof. The people love his wit and manner. Attacking him for incompetence is useless, it is already in the public domain and it obviously hasn't/doesn't bother(ed) people.
Here is an example of the establishment analysing things to death. While the economy is useless people will vote Tory, and Boris will fly high as a result. Fair or not, that's life. Now go quietly, there's a good boy.
PS Good to be back. Sorry for the spelling slip Phil, I got fatigue after filling in your verification pro-forma essay.
What do you mean "after two months". He has always been chaotic. It is EXACTLY what Londoners voted for. At the end of the day, Livingstone was seen for the nasty and spiteful little shit that he was. He was also seen to be incompetent. Boris is an altogether more benign phenomenon. Totally clueless. I imagine he is to incompetent to do any real harm. At 100k a year, he is the perfect politician. A relatively cheap source of amusement while the city can get on with making a bit of money free from Mayoral meddling.
PS Dave is a muppet. Which makes Brown's showing all the more feeble.
Michael:
You may think Ken is 'nasty and spiteful', but Boris may well have ben grateful for his support last night.
Perhaps surprisingly, Ken was a lone voice last night in offering support to Boris for 'standing by his man' and refusing to suspend him unless and until any evidence was produced in support of the allegations.
It doesn't really matter what Ken says now. He is yesterday's man. The people of London have delivered their verdict on him and his cronies. He should crawl back under the stone from whence he came.
Mmmm ! That should really please Londoners, being told thier judgeent is so bad that they voted (Twice) for soething that crawled from under a stone.
GW
...and someone who has, imho, whether you agree with him or not, delivered real improvements to the lives of ordinary Londoners...
Come on GW, they voted for Boris...they obviously have a sense of humour.
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