This morning at his press conference Guido asked Ed Miliband specifically about Ken’s tax avoiding arrangements. Ed Miliband claimed that Boris used a “similar scheme” to that used by Ken – a claim first made by Ken Livingstone himself on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show this Sunday. Boris is really not happy to be accused of tax dodging.

This afternoon we asked Boris specifically about his tax arrangements. Here is his angry answer in full:

Dear Guido,

You have asked about my business affairs and tax arrangements. Specifically do I have any company or other arrangements constructed to enable me to pay less tax and do I, as has been claimed by the Labour Mayoral candidate and the Opposition Leader, have the same arrangements as Labour’s Mayoral candidate.

The answer is simple and unequivocal in both cases. No.

My salary as Mayor is taxed as an employee of the GLA. In the same way as when I was an MP my salary was taxed as an employee. Any other income that I have received from outside endeavours has been received on a self-employed basis, to me as an individual (no company or other structure has been involved). No income earned by me has ever been paid to a “service” company, through which a person or person’s freelance earnings can be channeled so that they pay corporation rather than income tax.

To suggest otherwise is a complete and utter fabrication.

Of course the real point is not about my tax arrangements. It is about the hypocrisy of a man who for years has railed against those who use special arrangements to reduce their tax and who has then been caught – bang to rights – doing the very same thing himself.

Boris Johnson

Looks like Ed Miliband owes Boris an apology…

Guido just asked the two Eds about Ken Livingstone’s tax status at their joint press conference. Calling it a “desperate Tory smear” it was telling that Miliband had to stress it was all legal and pointed up that Boris was running a negative campaign. He might want to check some of the material being put out by his own party…

Nobody is suggesting that Ken has done anything illegal, just that he is a massive hypocrite. Guido even suggested that both the candidates release their tax returns, but it seems Labour are sticking to the blind eye approach on this one. Whether the public will be so forgiving of hypocrisy remains to be seen.

Following up, Guido asked Miliband about cancelling an appearance at an NHS rally on Saturday, citing illness, yet being spotted in the chairman’s box at Hull vs Ipswich that afternoon. Apparently it goes without saying that Ed loves the NHS more than football. You could have fooled the people of Hull…

Ed tried the old Cameron trick of no notes and no podium for his manufacturing speech today. Opening with some cracks about where he came in the Sky News totty trumps rankings, he tried to pretend he didn’t mind jibes about his looks. It would have worked better if he hadn’t been sporting yet another variation on his seemingly un-controllable pillow-hair. Geeky Ed is dressing a lot better these days. He has a range of TM Lewin suits for ordinary days and an Ozwald Boateng whistle for high days and holidays. However there is one recurring problem…

It’s not just the usual car-crash radio call-in today that is worries Labour insiders, Guido hears that Tom Baldwin is worried about two things; being marginalised by the new Chief-of-Staff Tim Livesey and secondly, Ed’s nose. He’s said to have raised the fact that things have got worse since his operation last summer, both in look and nasal twang. Baldwin even went as far as to suggest cosmetic surgery, something Ed rejected indignantly. The recent Party Political Broadcast voiced-over by Ed sounded like he was speaking underwater…

Replying to Dave’s statement on Europe, Ed just had one of his ever best outings at the Despatch Box. Tight and funny without being too moany. His pay-off line that the PM should have just gone horse-riding was Guy Newsroom worthy, but not a patch on his colleague Tom Blenkinsop who quipped, as the PM sat down: “why the long face?” If you are already bored with Horse-gags, PMQs is going to be neigh on unbearable…

It may be a leap year but this one was out of the blue:

No place in politics for those who question existence of the state of Israel. Nick Clegg must condemn Jenny Tonge's remark & demand apology—
Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) February 29, 2012

Over to you Nick…

If Ed has a moment today between PMQs and rubbing shoulders with the French socialist presidential contender François Hollande, he might want to make some very loud noises about Unite boss Len McClusky’s call to arms this morning:

“The attacks that are being launched on public sector workers at the moment are so deep and ideological that the idea the world should arrive in London and have these wonderful Olympic Games as though everything is nice and rosy in the garden is unthinkable,” he said. “The unions, and the general community, have got every right to be out protesting. If the Olympics provide us with an opportunity, then that’s exactly one that we should be looking at.” He also said members of the public should support the campaign by engaging in “civil disobedience”.

Ed might struggle though, what with Unite being his biggest donor…

Morning Kenny,

Ed Miliband will accuse David Cameron of ‘bunkum mentality’ over refusal to meet doctors, nurses and patients’ groups—
  (@EdMPress) February 20, 2012

Ed Miliband to accuse Cameron of ‘bunker mentality’ over refusal to meet doctors, nurses and patients’ groups—
Labour Press Team (@labourpress) February 20, 2012

When recycling old attacks on Brown, it’s probably best to clear the line with everyone…

Intriguing news tonight via Paul Waugh: Balls has brought in Gary Follis to be his new Chief of Staff. Before a brief stint in the real world, Follis was SpAd to Nick Brown (Gordon’s Chief Whip and Commander of the “Forces of Hell”). As talk of the Balls’ lasagne plots spread, Guido has to wonder how Miliband feels about “Nick Brown’s boot boy” returning to the fold. It could have been worse though, one exhasperated Labour staffer coughs “it’s the job he wanted to give to Damian. It’s still pretty much a declaration of war on Ed though…”

UPDATE:

While Guido was over at PoliticsHome, laughing at that development, he noticed that the latest chapter in the Aidan Burley Nazi-gate story didn’t take very long to fall apart. Burley was accused by a teenager on Twitter of sleeping during a Holocaust lecture. It turns out that the teacher who organised the trip, on which said teenager conveniently managed to recognise Burley, is a Labour councillor:

“After the lecture, Ms Reeves confronted Dr Smith and Burley and (wrongly) assumed the doctor was a Tory aide. Ms Reeves is then alleged to have told Smith and Burley that she knew Ed Miliband…”

Playing politics on a trip to Auschwitz. Stay classy.

Ed has been touring a hospital today, he even did a Q&A. It didn’t get any coverage though. David on the other hand has gone for the full house, popping up on Sky this lunchtime. He really likes his brother:

Got it? Good.

Though no longer an MP, Jacqui Smith is still lingering around. Today she’s gone violently off message in her weekly column for Lord Sainsbury’s Continuity-Tony faction, Progress:

“We need a ‘prawn cocktail’ offensive for the 21st century – a ‘scallops and celeriac purée’ offensive, a ‘baked figs and goats cheese’ offensive – anyway, you get my point. In the 1980s and 1990s, energetic Labour spokespeople led by then City minister Tony Blair toured the private dining rooms of the City trying to decontaminate the Labour brand with leading business people.”

She criticises Ed’s banker bashing and echoes David Miliband’s warnings of business desertion, before finally concluding:

“I want to see Ed, Ed, Chuka and Rachel on the telly, but I also want them to be in private dining rooms across the City and beyond – making the contacts, generating the policy ideas and building the consensus which will translate into a serious new business and industrial policy for the next Labour government.”

But Ed is doing that Jacqui. He’s using shady spinmeister Roland Rudd to set up all sorts of secret meetings with these types.

He refuses to release who was at the dinners though, because he is embarrassed.

Maybe you could ask him yourself, and let us know?