Duncan Smith was succeeded by Michael Howard in November 2003; Howard deemed Johnson to be the most popular Conservative politician with the electorate and appointed him vice-chairman of the party, responsible for overseeing its electoral campaign. In November 2004, the tabloids revealed that since 2000 Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, leading to two abortions. Before the election, Johnson published Johnson’s Life of London, a work of well-liked historical past that historian A. N. Wilson characterised as a “coded plea” for votes. He presented a preferred historical past tv show, The Dream of Rome, which was broadcast in January 2006; a guide adopted in February. At the tip of 1968, Lennon participated in the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, a tv special that was not broadcast. Johnson retained Livingstone tasks resembling Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic Games, however was accused of attempting to take credit for them.
Patti Nielson within the library referred to as 9-1-1, telling her story and urging students within the library to take cowl beneath desks. The menace of malware is an actual, on a regular basis concern, but a associate can make use of the identical types of packages that hackers use to steal your personal data (for reasons of identity or financial theft) to lure a cheating partner. Despite Johnson’s help of cycling, and his much-publicised identification as a cyclist, some cycling teams argued he had did not make town’s roads safer for cyclists. Sex training is another means young folks receive safer sex messages, and gay males believe it is a crucial resource. He tried placating critics who had deemed him a bigot by appearing at London’s gay pride parade and praising ethnic minority newspapers. After Johnson became mayor, those in City Hall deemed too carefully allied to Livingstone’s administration had their employment terminated. He introduced a public bicycle scheme that had been mooted by Livingstone’s administration; colloquially often known as “Boris Bikes”, the half privately financed system was a significant financial loss however proved common. To make up for this loss of earnings, Johnson negotiated with The Daily Telegraph to raise his wage from £200,000 to £250,000, averaging £5,000 per column.
In September, Johnson was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London after a public London-vast main. Many within the Conservative Party initially distanced themselves from Johnson’s administration, fearing it could be damaging for the 2010 general election. Johnson’s campaign focused on reducing youth crime, making public transport safer, and changing the articulated buses with an updated version of the AEC Routemaster. The campaign of Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone portrayed Johnson as an out-of-contact toff and bigot. Up for re-election in 2012, Johnson again employed Crosby to orchestrate his campaign. In 2005, The Spectator’s new chief executive, Andrew Neil, dismissed Johnson as editor. Johnson appointed himself chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), and in October 2008 successfully pushed for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair, after Blair was criticised for allegedly handing contracts to buddies and for his dealing with of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.
In turn he remained largely supportive of his friends within the media, together with Rupert Murdoch, through the News International cellphone hacking scandal. Johnson remained a well-liked figure in London with a powerful celeb standing in town. During his first administration, Johnson was embroiled in several personal scandals. During his first term, Johnson was perceived as having moved leftward on certain issues, supporting the London Living Wage and endorsing an amnesty for unlawful migrants. In October, Howard ordered Johnson to apologise publicly in Liverpool for publishing a Spectator article – anonymously written by Simon Heffer – which stated the crowds on the Hillsborough disaster had contributed to the incident and that Liverpudlians had a predilection for reliance on the welfare state. Johnson denied the allegations but they have been subsequently confirmed to be true, and Howard dismissed him as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister when he refused to resign. In his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle of May 2004, Howard appointed Johnson as shadow arts minister.