Liverpool artist: Boris Johnson is forgiven

Boris Johnson has been forgiven by the people of Liverpool - or at least by one of them. The Conservative Mayor of London has been something of a hate figure on Merseyside since 2004 when an editorial appeared in the Spectator magazine, which he was then editing, describing Liverpudlians as a race of people who wallowed in "vicarious victimhood". It followed the beheading in Iraq of the Liverpudlian civil engineer Kenneth Bigley.

The artist Lee Jones is doing his best to put all that in the past though and has produced a painting titled All is Forgiven (pictured) which depicts the Mayor as a supporter of Liverpool football club.

"I have always liked Boris, as he has such a striking and iconic look and I really warmed to him when he was on various quiz shows as an MP," says the artist. "I was also very impressed by him returning to Liverpool, facing the music and apologising [under orders from the then Tory leader Michael Howard] after he had made some adverse comments about the city. Not many other MPs would have admitted their mistake in such an open and honest way." Jones also adds: "Boris, you're welcome back any time."

Jones was in the news recently when he portrayed the Girls Aloud member and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole as the Angel of the North. That painting is still on sale with a £15,000 price-tag. All is Forgiven will be available for purchase for just under £2,000.