Boris Johnson fires advisor in race row

London mayor Boris Johnson has sacked one of his key political advisors, James McGrath, for saying that black immigrants could leave if they did not like the Tory administration.

McGrath made the remarks when he was questioned about the suggestion that Johnson's win could result in many older Caribbean immigrants leaving the capital. According to Marc Wadsworth, the anti-racism campaigner writing on the internet news site the-latest.com, McGrath replied: "Well, let them go if they don't like it here."

The mayor initially defended McGrath, but now says he could not continue to work with him because it would "provide ammunition" for his opponents. Johnson has had to actively distance himself from charges of racism after previous comments of his became a sensitive point of debate during his successful election campaign against Ken Livingstone.

Said Johnson: "James is not a racist. He shares my passionate belief that racism is vile, repulsive and has no place in modern Britain. But his response to a silly and hostile suggestion, put to him by Marc Wadsworth, allowed doubts to be raised about that commitment."