Boris Johnson ‘nervous’ ahead of Pippa table tennis tie

Boris Johnson said he was “very nervous” about playing Pippa Middleton at table tennis after she challenged him to a match.

The Mayor of London accepted Ms Middleton’s offer on Twitter after she said she would like to see whether the Middleton or Johnson family was the more competitive.

The mayor said: “I feel very nervous clearly because she seems to be very good. Well, she claims to be very good.

“But I’m very happy to do this because it’s a chance to promote what we’re doing with sports legacy London.

“We have greatly increased the number of people doing sports. If Pippa’s kind offer can be used to promote that then I’m all for it.”

He then seemed to confuse Ms Middleton with her sister the Duchess of Cambridge, and asked himself: “Pippa Middleton. She’s a duchess is she? Or isn’t she just a sister of a duchess?”

Mr Johnson spoke at Ealing Studios, home to the Downton Abbey set, yesterday after announcing a £750,000 investment in London’s TV and film industry.

The investment, which aims to create 1,000 jobs and bring in £200 million worth of expenditure, comes after a government-announced tax relief for film.