Boris draws fire for confused smoke signals
LONDON (AFP) — The Tory candidate for London mayor, Boris Johnson, drew fire Thursday for apparently contradictory statements about the nationwide ban on people smoking in public.
Current Labour mayor Ken Livingstone and Liberal Democrat hopeful Brian Paddick both issued statements condemning the Conservative candidate after he told The Sun newspaper that he was in favour of local referendums across London to allow boroughs to overturn the ban.
Johnson, already criticised for accepting money from the Tobacco Association in June 2007, had made a series of contradictory statements, they both said, after Johnson followed his statement in the Sun with a clarification which said that he personally supported the ban, but thought that the London boroughs should be able to overturn it.
First of all Boris Johnson says that he will overturn the smoking ban. Then he issues a press release denying that he ever meant what he said," Paddick's office said.
Former Spectator editor Johnsons real position was shown by a letter to The Times newspaper in 2004 which said: "Many people believe that the dangers of smoking and passive smoking are currently being exaggerated to the point of hysteria. The risks of passive smoke have never been proven beyond meaningless levels in a small minority of studies," he said.
Labour candidate Livingstone added: "Boris Johnson's minders are again desperately scrabbling to conceal his real positions.
"Johnsons position wishing boroughs had the power to overturn the smoking ban shows how hopelessly out of touch he is and unsuitable to the mayor of a modern, forward-looking city like London. It is made worse by the fact that it follows a donation from the tobacco lobby," the Labour candidate added.
Johnson and Livingstone are running close to neck-and neck in polls prior to the vote on May 1, after Livingstone cut into Johnsons early lead in recent days.
