Dismore gets under Boris’s skin on fire cuts

YOU can almost see in Boris Johnson’s face sometimes that he is counting down the days to when he no longer has to answer questions from Barnet and Camden assembly member Andrew Dismore at City Hall. The pair have snapped away at each other four years and Dismore has provoked some of Johnson’s closer-to-the-bone, more irritable sneers,

There’s just about time for a couple more ratty skirmishes before BJ departs and last week Dismore again brought out what could be said to be the worst of the Mayor. He suddenly produced a copy of a memorable CNJ front page which was part of our Thin Red Line investigation into London’s fire service cuts, and warned axing more engines would lead to further street chases with journalists. See ‘why we ran after Boris’ for the background on the chase bit.

Irritated with his old foe once more, Johnson grasped for an off-piste reply in which he described the engines as ‘pointless’.