Douglas Alexander has surfaced for his annual pre-conference toe dip into the media. Last year he went after Ed Miliband, this year he’s said what every Labour supporter with a brain knows full well:

“Ken’s campaign too often looked like the past rather than the future. And when I saw his remarks about the Jewish community in London in particular, I didn’t just think it was ill advised, I just thought it was wrong. It’s not our politics to try and divide voters into blocks. The success of the Olympics reminds us that London’s greatness and Britain’s greatness is when we come together. And I think he paid a deserved price for some of the errors that he made.”

Nice of him to speak out at the time…

UPDATE: Needless to say Ken’s accomplices in his deceitful campaign are gutted:

I'm really not sure what Douglas Alexander thinks he's achieving with his comments re Ken. Not a day goes by when I don't wish Ken was mayor—
Tom Copley (@tomcopley) September 28, 2012

Tragic!

UPDATE II: Ken hits back:

K: @DAlexanderMP represents a failed New Labour project that lost millions of votes. Whatever Labour's future it is not on those politics—
Ken Livingstone (@ken4london) September 28, 2012

Two old friends were reunited at the Paralympics closing ceremony last night…

There was always going to be kickback after Boris’ cold and calculated intervention to cock-up Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle day by coming down on Justine Greening’s side. Something she will remember in years to come. The faux Olympic camaraderie is long gone this morning, with a No.10 source telling the FT:

“We will see what happens the next time he comes around with the begging bowl…He might need us one day.”

Boris is not the type to appreciate being put back in his box…

Declaring in tonight’s Standard that the race to succeed David Cameron is very much on,  Matt d’Ancona has coined the definitive word for Boris supporters: “BoJo-vians”.

Guido will be hereby adopting the phrase, but who should make the list?

Oratory, flags, flames and the crowds screaming a politician’s name? Only Boris could get away with that:

Can you imagine how dull that would have been if Ken had won?

The Mayor of London is to get close protection from the Prime Mentalist’s old bodyguard.

Having given his distinctive hair a pre-Games chop, like a school child ready for a new term, you can barely recognise him anyway….

Ken Livingstone has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to his old adversary Andrew Gilligan for smearing him in his biography “You Can’t Say That“:

Ken wrote that I was “shown the door” by my previous employer, the Evening Standard, after writing “lies” about the allocation of grants by his administration and the behaviour of his race adviser, Lee Jasper. Ken also claimed that the Standard had repudiated my stories in editorials which “said there had been no corruption or cronyism at City Hall.” Alas, it wasn’t me who was lying. Being lied about by liars is an occupational hazard of my job. But anyone tempted to follow Livingstone’s example should be in no doubt that I will defend my reputation and journalism.”

The publishers will also be paying damages, but Ken is insisting on a confidentiality clause. 

PA is reporting that Bob Crow has lost his libel action against Boris:

“The general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) had complained about leaflets produced for Mr Johnson’s campaign for re-election in May. He said they meant that his policies, leadership of the RMT and association with Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Ken Livingstone, seriously damaged Mr Livingstone’s electoral prospects and caused grave harm to Londoners’ interests.

Mr Crow also claimed they meant that he was part of and supported a culture of political immorality involving broken promises, cronyism, scandals and waste. But Mr Justice Tugendhat, at the High Court, ruled today that the words complained of were not capable of being defamatory of the union leader.”

Quite…

Labour are getting worked up over claims made by Political Scrapbook that Boris Johnson had secret dinner  in January 2011 with Rupert Murdoch just two days before the phone hacking investigation was launched. Their City Hall cronies have jumped on the bandwagon, insisting: “this is extremely serious, for the Mayor to not declare a meeting with Rupert Murdoch at the height of the phone-hacking crisis is truly scandalous”. Indeed, it would be scandalous and a great scoop, if it was actually the case. However, rather embarrassingly, a Boris spokesman points to the fact that the information has been on the Mayor’s website for nearly a year. Oh dear…

UPDATE: At the time of going to pixel the Indy are claiming they could not open the link provided to them by City Hall. Seems fine in the Guy Newsroom…

UPDATE II: The Beeb are covering this, but seem to have missed this quote from a Boris spokesman: “Details of the meetings have been published on Mayor’s website for the best part of a year.”

Boris Johnson has let slip, again, that his eye is on a bigger prize. Speaking to NY Mag, the London Mayor said:

“We have to have a new airport. One of the only reasons I want to assume supreme power in England is to make sure that happens“.

He then told his interviewer:

“For God’s sake, don’t quote me saying that“.

Look out for an olive that looks like BoJo…