Ken has got himself in a terrible muddle, chided even by Blair, and has done repeated twists, turns and changes of story in a tale of self-justification. When first asked about the incident Ken claimed the Jewish reporter at the centre of the row had lost his temper and sworn at him. The claim – made before it came out that their encounter had been tape-recorded – was printed in several of the following day’s newspapers. But it has never since been repeated – for the obvious reason that it simply wasn’t true. The next line he took was that he was out to protect the lesbians and gays at the Chris Smith junket from harrassment. He promptly dropped that following this prompt and stunning repudiation from Outrage.

He then went on to justify it as being a response to a “24 year hate campaign” by the Evening Standard. But a quick search of the Evening Standard website finds a long list of all the wonderful places he has eaten at their expense during the decades of hate.

So he’s switched to now saying that the Evening Standard has changed in the last few years. Yet Guido recalls that despite the 24-year-hate-campaign the paper supported him for Mayor in 2004…