Boris tells press: leave those kids alone

Despite assembling his four children before the press on the night of his election as mayor of London, Boris Johnson has made it clear that his family is strictly off-limits with regards to the press. Yesterday, his office lodged a stiff complaint with the Press Complaints Commission after the Londonpaper, a freesheet published by Rupert Murdoch’s News International group, published a number of snaps of him on holiday with his children in Turkey.

Said a spokesman for Johnson: "The London mayor considers those photos an unwarranted intrusion into the private lives of his children. It is clear from one photo that this intrusion has caused some distress to one of his daughters. Another seems to mock his youngest son by inviting comparisons with his father." The complaint to the PCC has been made under the terms of its 'Privacy of Children' code of practice and is likely to be upheld.

Just in case there was any doubt, Johnson's press spokesman has also written to a number of newspapers stating the mayor's position. "I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to recognise that the mayor is keen that his children should not be subjected to publicity. They are young, they are not public figures and the mayor does not involve them in his public functions. There can be little legitimate public interest in reporting information about their private lives."