Winter of discontent for Boris

Published on Thursday 2 April 2009 22:18

BORIS Johnson, the London mayor, clashed angrily with MPs yesterday over his handling of the heavy snow that devastated the city's transport system two months ago.

In an increasingly acrimonious meeting, Mr Johnson accused the Commons transport select committee of "unnecessary political bias".

At one point, he tried to leave the hearing, only to sit down again after Louise Ellman, the committee chairwoman, told him his behaviour was "unacceptable" and that he had agreed to give evidence for 45 minutes.

Mr Johnson accused MPs of "talking tripe" and of being "pathetic" as they sought to question him about the snow that paralysed transport in London on 2 February.

Mrs Ellman, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, told him MPs were extremely concerned that "our capital city was virtually shut down in a way that did not happen in any other city in the country".

She added: "It appears that you didn't act in accordance with your responsibilities as mayor and as chairman of Transport for London."

Mr Johnson replied that what Mrs Ellman had said was "quite wrong". He went on: "This smacks to me of an unnecessary amount of party political bias. To say that the situation in London was worse than anywhere else is simply not true."

The mayor added: "It is not within my competence to stop the biggest downfall of snow we have had over the skies of this city for 20 years."

During questioning by David Clelland, the Labour MP for Tyne Bridge, Mr Johnson said: "This is pathetic. You are trying to put the blame on a Tory mayor."

Earlier, Valerie Shawcross, who chairs the London Assembly transport committee, told MPs she thought it "quite strange" Mr Johnson had not been more proactive in the battle to keep transport running. She said: "The mayor seems not to have been actively involved. It's fair to say that he seemed to be entirely out of things."