The Guardian’s diarist, Hugh Muir, gave Boris a good going over yesterday in his diary column, all but accusing him of being a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan.

Only on Saturday another Hugh Muir piece also appeared in the Guardian, headlined Boris Johnson Faces Conflict of Interest Charge Over Office, over Boris taking free office space from a Ken hating business.

Conflict of interest charges are serious indeed and should be answered. So how much did Hugh Muir get for his contribution to a report commissioned by Ken – The Search for Common Ground? We know it cost the Mayor’s taxpayers £22,000. We know of course it had a foreword by Mayor Ken. What we don’t know is how much of the taxpayers £22,000 Hugh pocketed courtesy of Ken.

Guido has tried to contact him to find out, but no reply so far. Hugh’s article on Boris concluded that Boris “should know there is no such thing as a free lunch”. Quite, so how much did Hugh get from Ken Livingstone?

The Charity Commission has rapped a dozen Muslim charities for supporting Ken Livingstone’s bid to be re-elected as Mayor of London. They wrote a letter which was posted on the Guardian’s CiF a few weeks back (3 January).

The Londoner is a Ken Livingstone financed propaganda sheet. The SNP’s Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie reckons Ken is “wasting public money on a lavish scale” sending the newspaper, subtitled News from the Mayor of London to the constituency offices of Scottish MPs and MEPs, and at least one MSP. Some 5,000 copies are being sent to each postcode district in the UK according to the publishers.

Since Ken is quoted in nearly every article throughout the 20 pages, on concerns ranging from London’s housing shortage, Tube fares, a Metropolitan Police survey, Oyster Cards, offers for Londoners to get half price bus fares and crime in London, Hosie says: “This is an outrageous waste of taxpayers’ money to provide propaganda for Ken Livingstone’s mayoral campaign. The newspaper articles have little or no relevance to anyone outside London. Bad enough that taxpayers’ money is wasted on propaganda but then to have it posted throughout the UK adds insult to injury.”

Boris is backing the futuristic clean, low emission, hydrogen-powered wheelchair and pushchair friendly double decker bus. So us cyclists will have two good reasons to support it, less chance of being crushed to death by a bendy bus or having to choke on diesel fumes. Autocar commissioned this design. Of course we were told by Ken that “only a dehumanised moron” would get rid of the Routemaster. Ken got rid of the Routemaster in 2004.

Londoners want, and tourists especially expect, to see the famous red bus silhouette against the backdrop of the Capital of the World. Bizarrely Ken’s supporters now no longer able to object on disability legislation grounds now object on cost grounds. When have they ever worried about cost before? Boris is on to a populist vote winner here…

Andrew Gilligan in this evening’s London Standard has another story about the whirlpool of corruption and graft surrounding Lee Jasper, Mayor Ken Livingstone’s aide.

Cash has been dished out in wheelbarrows to Jasper’s pals. Now a whistle-blower of impeccable credentials has come out to describe a catalogue of demands for hush money, political interference and financial irregularity.

The Tories are now calling for the District Auditor to come in and go over the books. In any organisation where one individual faced so many allegations he would be suspended pending an investigation. What does Ken do? He calls everyone racist and gets his echo-chamber of ratepayer funded self-serving community groups to join in the chant. It won’t work this time.

Brenda Stern, who was the programme manager for the LDA’s Diversity Works initiative, is a former director for the Commission for Racial Equality, who was brought into the LDA in March 2006 to rescue Diversity Works. She comes from a background in anti-apartheid activism. Her credibility is not in question. Lee Jasper should be very worried.

So why is Ken still so vehemently defending his aide? Could it be that Lee Jasper knows where the bodies are buried?

Ken was overheard at his office in the lift by a co-conspirator who emailed this in

He was quite happily telling his companion that if (and he did say “if”) he wins a third term, he will be evicting the Conservative Group from their offices and taking over the area for his own staff. Apparently the Conservatives are hardly ever there and don’t need as much room as they have.

Not so certain of victory?

UPDATE : Ken’s henchman Lee Jasper is, as Guido has said before, a shakedown artist. He lives in an upmarket period property owned by a Housing Association which receives £80 million a year to house low income families. Lee Jasper earns £117,000 a year and pays just £90 week rent. According to the Evening Standard the market rate, which he could well afford, is £550 a week for this period property worth some £750,000. So this is what Ken means by affordable housing.

Boris speaking at Prospex, a charity helping disadvantaged young kids said pointedly today;

“it is galling to know that millions of pounds of LDA money has allegedly not got through to the many community groups that need it most. The Mayor should now apologise for this outrageous abuse of hard-earned taxpayer’s money. We always knew the attacks on me were a put-up job, and in no sense represented the black community. The attacks are a smokescreen to hide the fact that his administration has ripped off community groups across London and failed to improve the lives of the very people he claims to champion. I am delighted that the curtain has gone up to reveal Ken pulling the levers. The incompetent puppetmaster has been exposed by his own puppets.”

Ken has a history of diverting cash supposedly for good causes into furthering his political self interest. If it is proven that Jasper, who is a bit of a shakedown artist at the best of times, has misused public money, Ken will go down with him.

Londoners tuned into Capital Radio this morning to hear Boris on with Johnnie Vaughn, not sure if it was to do with his new single release. Wednesday he gave a speech on housing, yesterday he was banging on about Heathrow and the execution of De Menezes. Earlier in the week he did a photo-op down Portobello Road.

He has now visited every one of the 32 boroughs in London, a campaign source tells Guido he has also completed a month long immersive education in the details of policy. The grid for the campaign kicks off in earnest in January. Ken’s policy response is a proposal to nationalise all trains coming into London. With the LibDems choosing the PC PC, Brian Paddick, it is all going to be fun…

Incidentally, the Conservative Friends of Bangladesh have Boris as guest speaker next Thursday night. If you want to attend and see if he can make it through dinner without upsetting another nationality, email Jane, (tickets are £15).

Those who say he is nowhere to be seen just aren’t listening. You can hear his just released homage to FatBoy Slim here.

Hat-tip : BorisBorisBoris.com