Boris Johnson restricts his ‘wit and wisdom’

Since becoming mayor of London in May, Boris Johnson (pictured) has attempted to shed the buffoonish image that was once so dear to him. The latest example of this is his reaction to a new book that is being rushed out for the Christmas market called The Thinking Man's Idiot: The Wit And Wisdom Of Boris Johnson.

The tome, destined for many a middle-class lavatory, is a collection of Johnson's more absurd utterances, culled from his off-the-cuff speeches and appearances on programmmes such as the BBC's Have I got News For You. Sadly though, the book's publisher, New Holland, was unable to use any of the witticisms that appear in the the mayor's weekly columns in the Daily Telegraph, for which he is reported to be paid £250,000 and where, in days gone by, he has written controversially about "picanninies" with "wide watermelon smiles".

According to the Independent, the mayor's office got wind of the publication and forbade New Holland from using any of his scribblings unless the book was given a more complimentary title. However, that is not going to happen: the publishers say the book's name will stay. Said a spokesman: "It was a shame but we weren't prepared to change it. There's plenty of good stuff in his speeches."