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RT
Launched	December 10, 2005
Owned by	ANO TV-Novosti
Picture format	4:3 (576i, SDTV)
Slogan	Question More
Country	Russia
Language	Arabic, English, Russian, Spanish
Broadcast area	Worldwide, via Cable, Satellite and Internet
Headquarters	Moscow, Russia
Formerly called	Russia Today
Sister channel(s)	Rusiya Al-Yaum, RT en Español, RT America, RTD
Website	RT.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview (UK)	Channel 85
MHz Networks (Washington)	Channel 30.4
Satellite
Bell TV (Canada)	Channel 724
Viasat
Airtel digital tv (India)	Channel 311
Indovision (Indonesia)	Channel 355
yes (Israel)
SKY Italia (Italy)	Channel 531
GlobeCast World TV (North America) FTA	Channel 462
Cyfra+ (Poland)	Channel 146
NTV Plus (Russia)
Freesat INDIA BIG TV= Channel no:461 (UK)	Channel 206
Sky (UK)	Channel 512
Sky (New Zealand)	Channel 096
Dish Network (US)	Channel 280
Cable
StarHub TV (Singapore)	Channel 151
IPTV
Telus TV (Optik TV) (Canada)	Channel 573
Hypp.TV (Malaysia)	Channel 2008
mio TV (Singapore)	Channel 45
TPG Telecom (Australia)	Channel unallocated
Internet television
Live Webcast	Watch (Free, available in English)
Livestation	Watch (Free, 502 Kbit/s, available in English)

RT, previously known as Russia Today, is a government-funded^[1] global multilingual television news network based in Russia. It was founded in 2005 as Russia Today by the government-owned^[2] RIA Novosti.

RT shows round-the-clock news bulletins, documentaries, talk shows, and debates, as well as sports news and cultural programs on Russia. The service is aimed at the overseas news market and broadcast through 22 satellite and 230 cable operators throughout the world. In addition to its English-language broadcast, it also runs Rusiya Al-Yaum, an Arabic language channel, and Spanish-language channels. It also runs a documentary channel. RT has 21 bureaus in 16 countries, with "presences" in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Paris, Delhi, Cairo, Baghdad, Kiev and other cities. It employs over 2,000 media professionals worldwide. It broadcasts to 430 million people in over 100 countries. RT America is available to 50 million people in the United States.^[3]

RT is the second most-watched foreign news channel in the United States, after BBC News.^[4] By May 2012, its videos had garnered over 700 million views on YouTube.

History[link]

RT started broadcasting on 10 December 2005 with nearly 100 English-speaking journalists reporting for it worldwide.^[5][6] It was the first all-digital Russian TV network,^[7] and cost about $30 million in 2005 to set up and $60 million for its first year of operation.^[5] Margarita Simonyan, RT's editor-in-chief, has said the station was born out of the desire to present an "unbiased portrait of Russia."^[7]

The network was launched by the government-owned^[8] news agency ANO TV-Novosti in 2005, and much of the funding to this organization is injected from the Russian Federal Budget (2.4 billion rubles in 2007).^[9][10] This is equivalent to 81.5 million April 20, 2012 U.S. dollars.

In August 2007, RT had television's first ever live report from the North Pole, which lasted 5 minutes, 41 seconds. An RT crew participated in the Arktika 2007 Russian polar expedition, led by Artur Chilingarov on the Akademik Fyodorov icebreaker.^[11]

On April 17, 2012 RT was the first network to air the World Tomorrow, a news interview program provided by WikiLeaks and hosted by Julian Assange. The first guest was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.^[12] WikiLeaks described the show as "a series of in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world."^[13]

Network[link]

RT consists of its main RT International English-language channel, RT America, RT Arabic, Actualidad RT in Spanish, and RT Documentary.

Availability[link]

Satellite and cable broadcasts[link]

RT is transmitted on thirteen satellites, covering Europe, Asia, the Americas, southern Africa and Australia.^[19] Of these, eleven transmit the channel free to air, enabling it to be received without a subscription.^[20]

Viewers in Russia can receive the channel as a part of the NTV Plus basic package as well as Kosmos TV.

In the UK and Ireland, the channel is available on the Sky platform's channel 512, including in the Freesat from Sky package. It is also available in some parts of the UK 24 hours per day on Digital Terrestrial platform Freeview channel 85 and also on Freesat channel 206.

In Italy, the channel is available via SKY Italia on channel 531.

In New Zealand, the channel is available via Sky Network Television on channel 96.

In most of Africa it's available via Multichoice's DStv Platform.

In the United States, the channel is available nationwide to Dish Network subscribers (channel 280). It is also available to digital customers of Time-Warner Cable in New York and New Jersey on channel 135 (channel 196 in upstate New York), in Los Angeles and the desert cities on channel 236, and in San Diego and North County on channel 222. Digital customers of Comcast can receive the channel in Chicago on channel 103, Washington, D.C. on channel 274, and in the Seattle Metropolitan area and Spokane (channel 81). Digital subscribers to Buckeye CableSystem can receive the channel in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan on channel 266. The channel is also available in the Washington, D.C. area via Cox (channel 474), RCN (channel 33), and Verizon FIOS (channel 455).

Portions of RT are additionally shown throughout the United States on MHz Worldview. Since MHZ Worldview is shown as a digital subchannel for some PBS stations. This makes RT available on digital terrestrial television in the United States. MHz Networks, which owns MHZ Worldview, does a complete simulcast of RT on one of the digital subchannels of WNVC, one of the two stations it owns in Northern Virginia. Over the air, it is shown on WYBE 35.4 in Philadelphia.

In January 2010, RT became available in major cities in Western Canada through Shaw Cable. It also began appearing a couple months earlier in major cities throughout Eastern Canada from Rogers Cable. In the Toronto area, it's on channel 887 (and also on 177).

Spanish speaking counties[link]

The Spanish service of RT is available via cable and satellite signal. In Spain Digital+ offers RT in channel 312, the TV cable company ONO in channel 401 and Imagenio in channel 138. Movistar TV Digital broadcasts RT-Español in channel 744 in Chile, and in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela in channel 463. In Argentina some regional cable networks include RT in their packages.

Online[link]

A live stream of the channel offering a choice of three resolutions for differing capacity connections is available via the RT website. The stream is also available in English and Arabic through Livestation which can also be viewed on televisions using the Roku player. Video clips of some of the programming is available on the website. A lesser amount is also available on YouTube.

Controversies and criticisms[link]

On March 2010, The Moscow Times stated that "some" believe the TV network broadcasts "Kremlin propaganda" around the world, but acknowledged that others viewed the TV network as an important alternative voice in the media.^[1]

Allegations of pro-Kremlin bias[link]

According to a variety of sources such as Der Spiegel and Reporters Without Borders, the channel presents pro-Kremlin propaganda.^[21][22] A 2005 report conducted by the U.S. government operated VOA, interviewed Anton Nosik chief editor of a major English-language computer internet site in Russia, in which he described the creation of Russia Today as an idea smacking of Soviet-style propaganda campaigns, and also noted that the channel was not created as a response to any existing demand.^[23] While another article in the Digital Journal called RT a "pro-Putin news outlet"^[24] and its advertising campaign as "open propaganda war."^[24]

A 2009 article by journalist Luke Harding for The Guardian reporting on RT's advertising campaign described the network as "unashamedly pro-Putin "^[25] and part of the Kremlin's attempt to create a "post-Soviet global propaganda empire."^[25]

An article published in The New Republic by James Kirchick characterized the news reportage of Russia Today as, "virulent anti-Americanism, worshipful portrayal of Russian leaders, and comical production values," that "can't help but revive the pettiness that was a distinctive feature of Soviet-era propaganda."^[26]

An article by Accuracy in Media criticized RT as a "propaganda network funded by the Moscow regime of Vladimir Putin"^[27] and charged that it "regularly features Marxist and radical commentators.^[27] The article also cites the description of the network by former KGB officer Konstantin Preobrazhensky as "a part of the Russian industry of misinformation and manipulation" designed to mislead foreign audiences about Russian intentions."^[27] Furthermore, Preobrazhensky argues that Russia Today utilizes methods of propaganda that are "managed by Directorate 'A' of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service" and that "the specialty of Directorate 'A' is deceiving world public opinion and manipulating it. It has got a lot of experience over decades of the Cold War."^[27]

An editor for the Kyiv Post has noted criticism towards RT and its perceived anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.^[28] In December 2011 Andrew Osborn for the Daily Telegraph described RT as "the Kremlin's slavishly loyal English-language propaganda channel".^[29]

Allegations of supporting conspiracy theories[link]

The Economist magazine, which classified RT's reporting as "weirdly constructed propaganda", has suggested that the channel has provided a platform to conspiracy theorists.^[30] Julia Ioffe claims that Russia Today is a Kremlin propaganda outlet featuring "fringe-dwelling experts" and "was just a way to stick it to the U.S. from behind the façade of legitimate newsgathering."^[31]

Ben Smith criticized an interview between Alex Jones and Russia Today discussing Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories and called Russia Today a "raw propaganda channel."^[32]

Criticisms of coverage of specific news incidents[link]

During the 2008 South Ossetia War Russia Today correspondent William Dunbar resigned saying "the real news, the real facts of the matter, didn't conform to what they were trying to report, and therefore, they wouldn't let me report it."^[33] Human Rights Watch said that the claim of 2,000 South Ossetian casualties, announced by Russia Today,^[34] was "exaggerated."^[35] The Moscow correspondent for The Independent said that Russia Today's coverage of the war was "obscene", claiming that the channel was "extraordinarily biased" and had "instructed reporters not to report from Georgian villages within South Ossetia that had been ethnically cleansed."^[36]

Responses to allegations[link]

Russia Today staff have claimed that their coverage is "fair and balanced, not merely propaganda."^[37]

Margarita Simonyan, the channel's editor-in-chief, has rejected the allegation that RT broadcasts "Kremlin propaganda" but acknowledged that it strives for a "Russian viewpoint".^[1] She has claimed the channel welcomes controversy, as it "provides an alternative to mainstream media." ^[38] She has said the network "takes a pro-Russian position"^[25] and has been unrepentant about RT's pro-Russian coverage of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.^[25]

Achievements[link]

Professional awards[link]

• November 2011 – Martyn Andrews and the weekly "Moscow Out" arts and entertainment show awarded the "ShereMedia Award" for Best Lifestyle Program
• January 2009 – One of 100+ of Silver World Medals issued in 2009, for Best News Documentary “A city of desolate mothers” from the New York Festivals ^[39]
• November 2008 – Special Jury Award in the Best Creative Feature category for a Russian Glamour feature story at Media Excellence Awards in London
• September 2008 – Russia's most prestigious broadcasting award TEFI to Kevin Owen in Best News Anchor category
• November 2007 – RT's report on the anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe received a special prize from the international 2007 AIB Media Excellence Awards^[40] in the News Coverage category. Other nominees included major international broadcasters such as BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle, CBS, Al Arabiya, and others. There was only one story by CBS News which rated higher than RT and it received the Grand Prix
• September 2007 – Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio^[41] awarded RT with the Prize for Professional Skillfulness
• June 2007 – The 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival^[42] awarded its Grand Prix to RT's Meeting with Nature series. There were 284 entries competing in 10 categories, including a work by German TV channel Deutsche Welle
• September 2006 – The 10th "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programs and films^[43] awarded RT's documentary People of the Bering Strait in the Ethnography and Travel category

Presenters[link]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Russia Today

• Voice of Russia
• Freedom of the press in Russia

References[link]

External links[link]

• RT website
• RT's channel on YouTube
• RT on Twitter
• RT on Facebook
• RT Live Flash stream

Boris Johnson
Prior to ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ on 14 September 2009
Mayor of London
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 May 2008
Deputy	Richard Barnes Victoria Borwick
Preceded by	Ken Livingstone
Shadow Minister for Higher Education
In office 6 December 2005 – 16 July 2007
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Cameron
Succeeded by	Adam Afriyie
Shadow Minister for the Arts
In office 14 April 2004 – 17 November 2004
Leader	Michael Howard
Preceded by	Gerald Howarth
Succeeded by	Tony Baldry
Member of Parliament for Henley
In office 9 June 2001 – 4 June 2008
Preceded by	Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by	John Howell
Personal details
Born	Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (1964-06-19) 19 June 1964 (age 48) New York City, United States
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Allegra Mostyn-Owen (1987–1993, divorced) Marina Wheeler (1993–present)
Relations	Stanley Johnson (father) Rachel Johnson (sister) Jo Johnson (brother) Leo Johnson (brother)
Children	Lara Lettice Johnson Milo Arthur Johnson Cassia Peaches Johnson Theodore Apollo Johnson
Residence	Highbury, London
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation	Conservative politician
Profession	Politician, journalist
Religion	Christian (Church of England) [1]
Website	Official mayoral website

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is an American-born British Conservative Party politician and journalist, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Henley and editor of The Spectator magazine.

Johnson was educated at Primrose Hill Primary School, the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House School, Eton College, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores.^[2] He began his career in journalism with The Times, and later moved on to The Daily Telegraph where he became assistant editor. He was appointed editor of The Spectator in 1999. In the 2001 general election he was elected to the House of Commons and became one of the most conspicuous politicians in the country. He has also written several books.

Under Michael Howard, Johnson briefly served on the Conservative front bench as the Shadow Minister for the Arts from April 2004 until November 2004. When David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Johnson was re-appointed to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Higher Education and resigned as editor of The Spectator.

In September 2007 he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the 2008 London mayoral election. Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and was elected Mayor, after which he resigned his seat in parliament. With over a million votes, he received the largest personal mandate of any politician in British history.^[3][4] On 4 May 2012, Johnson was re-elected as Mayor, again defeating Ken Livingstone.^[5]

Parental origins, education and marriages[link]

Johnson is the eldest of the four children of Stanley Johnson, a former Conservative Member of the European Parliament and employee of the European Commission and World Bank, and of his first wife, the painter Charlotte Fawcett (later Wahl),^[6] the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a barrister^[7] and president of the European Commission of Human Rights.^[8] He is the elder brother of Rachel Johnson, a writer and journalist, Jo Johnson, a columnist and Associate Editor of the Financial Times and Conservative MP for Orpington since the General Election of 2010, and Leo Johnson, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers specialising in Sustainability.^[9]

Johnson's maternal great-grandparents were palaeographer Elias Avery Lowe and translator H. T. Lowe-Porter.^[10] On his father's side, Johnson is a great-grandson of Ali Kemal Bey, a liberal Turkish journalist and the interior minister in the government of Damat Ferid Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, who was killed during the Turkish War of Independence.^[11] During the First World War, Johnson's paternal grandfather and great aunt were recognised as British subjects and took their grandmother's maiden name of Johnson. In reference to his cosmopolitan ancestry, Johnson has described himself as a "one-man melting pot" — with a combination of Muslims, Jews and Christians comprising his great-grandparentage.^[12] His father's maternal grandmother, Marie Louise de Pfeffel, was a descendant of Prince Paul of Württemberg through his relationship with a German actress. Through Prince Paul, Johnson is a descendant of King George II, and through George's great-great-great grandfather James I/VI, a descendant of all of the previous British royal houses. Johnson is an 8th cousin of David Cameron.^[13]

Johnson was born in New York City,^[14] but his family returned to Britain soon afterward, as his mother had yet to take her Oxford University final exams. Johnson's sister Rachel was born a year later. As a child, Boris Johnson suffered from severe deafness and had to undergo several operations to have grommets inserted in his ears and was reported to have been rather quiet as a child.^[1] He was educated at the European School in Brussels,^[15] at Ashdown House School and at Eton College, where he was a King's Scholar. He read Classics at Oxford, as a Brackenbury scholar and was elected President of the Oxford Union at his second attempt. Frank Luntz^[16] and Radosław Sikorski^[1] have claimed Johnson touted himself as a supporter of the Social Democratic Party, then a dominant faction in the university, as a strategy to win the Union presidency, although Johnson denies that he was more than the SDP's preferred candidate. Along with David Cameron and George Osborne he was a member of Oxford's Bullingdon Club, a student dining society known for destroying restaurant dining rooms, and paying for the repairs afterwards.^[17]

In 1987, he married Allegra Mostyn-Owen; the marriage was dissolved in 1993.^[18] Later that year, he married Marina Wheeler, a barrister, the daughter of journalist and broadcaster Sir Charles Wheeler and his Sikh wife, Dip Singh.^[19] The Wheeler and Johnson families have known each other for decades,^[1] and Marina Wheeler was at the European School in Brussels at the same time as her future husband. They have two sons—Milo Arthur (born 1995) and Theodore Apollo (born 1999)—and two daughters—Lara Lettice (born 1993) and Cassia Peaches (born 1997).^[20] Boris Johnson and his family currently live in Holloway, North London. Johnson's stepmother, Jenny, the second wife of his father Stanley, is the stepdaughter of Teddy Sieff, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer.^[21]

Journalism and history[link]

Upon graduating from Oxford, he spent only a week as a management consultant at L.E.K. Consulting:

He then became a trainee reporter for The Times. Within a year he was sacked for falsifying a quotation from his godfather, Colin Lucas, later vice-chancellor of Oxford University.^[22] After a short time as a writer for the Wolverhampton Express & Star, he joined The Daily Telegraph in 1987 as leader and feature writer, and from 1989 to 1994 was the paper's European Community correspondent. He served as assistant editor from 1994 to 1999. In 1995 a recording of a telephone conversation was made public revealing a plot by a friend physically to assault a News of the World journalist. Johnson retained his position at the Telegraph as there was no evidence that he intended to provide information that would facilitate the assault of the journalist, even though he promised under pressure to provide this information. His association with The Spectator began as political columnist from 1994 to 1995. In 1999 he became editor of The Spectator, where he stayed until December 2005 upon being appointed Shadow Minister for Higher Education.

He wrote an autobiographical account of his experience of the 2001 election campaign Friends, Voters, Countrymen: Jottings on the Stump. He is also author of three collections of journalism, Johnson's Column, Lend Me Your Ears and Have I Got Views For You. His comic first novel Seventy-Two Virgins was published in 2004,^[23] and his next book will be The New British Revolution, though he has put publication on hold until after the London Mayoral election.^[24] He was nominated in 2004 for a British Academy Television Award, and has attracted several unofficial fan clubs and sites. His official website and blog started in September, 2004.

Johnson is a popular historian and his first documentary series, The Dream of Rome, comparing the Roman Empire and the modern-day European Union, was broadcast in 2006.

After being elected mayor, he announced that he would be resuming his weekly column for The Daily Telegraph. The Guardian reported that he had agreed a £250,000 annual salary for doing so. The report added that he will donate £25,000 each towards two scholarships: one for students of journalism, and the other for the teaching of classics.^[25]

Political career[link]

After having been defeated in Clwyd South in the 1997 general election, Johnson was elected MP for Henley, succeeding Michael Heseltine, in the 2001 General Election. He described this election in his 2002 book, Friends, Voters, Countrymen. In 2004 he was appointed to the front bench as Shadow Minister for the Arts in a small reshuffle resulting from the resignation of the Shadow Home Affairs Spokesman, Nick Hawkins. He was also from November 2003 vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, with an emphasis on campaigning.^[26]

Johnson was dismissed from these high-profile posts in November 2004 over accusations that he lied to Michael Howard about a four-year extramarital affair with Petronella Wyatt, The Spectator's New York correspondent and former deputy editor. Johnson derided these allegations as "an inverted pyramid of piffle", but Howard sacked Johnson because he believed press reports showed Johnson had lied, rather than for the affair itself.^[27]

Higher education[link]

He was appointed Shadow Minister for Higher Education on 9 December 2005 by new Conservative Leader David Cameron, and resigned as editor of The Spectator soon afterward. On 2 April 2006 it was alleged in the News of the World that Johnson had had another extramarital affair, this time with Times Higher Education Supplement journalist Anna Fazackerley. The video^[28] shows him emerging from her flat and waving to her in a taxi. Subsequently, in a speech at the University of Exeter concerning student finance, he allegedly made comical remarks about his gratitude to the audience for not "raising other issues" during the talk, which may have been a reference to the allegations. A report in The Times^[29] stated that Cameron regarded the possible affair as a private matter, and that Johnson would not lose his job over it.

Johnson stood for the February 2006 election of Rector of the University of Edinburgh, after receiving seven times more nominations than needed to stand.^[30] His presence as candidate caused an unprecedented turn-out and sparked an "Anyone but Boris" campaign.^[31] Protests included having drinks thrown over him at his first of two visits to the student body.^[30][32] Johnson eventually polled third of four, with 2,123 votes, behind 3,052 votes for journalist Magnus Linklater and 3,597 for Green Party MSP Mark Ballard.^[31] Johnson was quoted as having been pleased to mobilise the student body, but disappointed at the personal campaign against him as an "English top-up fee merchant".^[31]

In September 2006, his image was used in 'Boris needs you' and 'I Love Boris' material to promote the Conservative Party's image during Freshers' Week in universities.^[33]

2008 London Mayoral election[link]

After several days of speculation, Johnson announced he was a potential Conservative candidate for the London mayoral election in 2008 on 16 July 2007.^[34] Reported as saying^[34]

He resigned as Shadow Minister for Higher Education. He was confirmed as the Conservative candidate on 27 September 2007 after gaining 75% of the vote in a public London-wide primary.^[35]

The Conservative Party hired Australian election strategist Lynton Crosby to run Johnson's campaign. Aware of Johnson's propensity for committing gaffes, Crosby prevented him from holding interviews with the print and broadcast media in favour of radio talk shows and daytime television which asked "easier" questions.^[36][37] Crosby also made Johnson tell fewer jokes and have a simpler haircut to help make him appear more serious.^[36] The campaign targeted Conservative-leaning suburbs in outer London to capitalise on a sense of detachment with the Livingstone administration which had focused on inner London areas.^[37]

His campaign was launched in Edmonton in March 2008 when David Cameron, introducing Johnson, commented "I don't always agree with him, but I respect the fact that he's absolutely his own man."^[38]

Johnson pledged to introduce new Routemaster-derived buses to replace the city's fleet of articulated buses if elected Mayor.

His manifesto was published in sections; they were, together with quotes or general content:

Accountability

2008 manifesto: "Making London’s Mayor Accountable"...^[39]

Business

2008 manifesto: "Backing London Business"...^[40]

Environment

2008 manifesto: "Protecting Our Local Environment"...^[41]

Crime

2008 manifesto: "Making London Safer"'...^[42]

He also included a pledge to remove red tape in the Metropolitan Police Service.

Housing

2008 manifesto: "Building A Better London"...^[43]

Pensioners

2008 manifesto: "Appreciating Our Seniors"...^[44]

Transport

2008 manifesto: "Getting Londoners Moving"...^[45]

He promised:

• better orbital public transport: "One of the limitations of the public transport network in outer London is the lack of direct and convenient orbital routes."
• cutting crime by increasing police presence on public transport
• to scrap controversial articulated "bendy" buses and replace them with modern designs of the iconic Routemaster bus.^[46]

Johnson's candidature received opposition from across the political spectrum. Right-wing journalists Simon Heffer and Peregrine Worsthorne described Johnson as not being serious enough to hold the role of Mayor of London,^[47] Worsthorne noting that the "harder he tried [to be serious], the more insincere, incoherent, evasive and even puerile he looked and sounded".^[48] Ken Livingstone described Johnson as "a joke".^[49] Left of centre commentators claimed that Johnson was not suited to be Mayor of such an ethnically diverse city because he had previously made comments which they interpreted as racist,^[50] a situation exacerbated when the British National Party urged its supporters to give their second preference votes to Johnson.^[51] Johnson denied allegations of racism and stated that he did not want any BNP supporters to vote for him.

Johnson's candidacy was the subject of international interest. Germany's Der Spiegel and America's National Public Radio reported the race, both quoting Johnson as saying "if you vote for the Conservatives, your wife will get bigger breasts, and your chances of driving a BMW M3 will increase",^[52][53] without however giving a source for this; the BBC has quoted the same statement by him from his 2004 campaign trail.^[54]

Though most pollsters—with the exception of YouGov which accurately forecast the final result—predicted either a close result or narrow win for Livingstone,^[55] it was announced on 2 May 2008 Johnson had garnered a total of 1,168,738 first and second preference votes to Livingstone's 1,028,966.^[56] Johnson benefited from a large voter turnout in Conservative strongholds, in particular Bexley and Bromley where he amassed a majority of over 80,000 over Livingstone.^[57] Following his victory, he praised Livingstone as a "very considerable public servant" and added that he hoped to "discover a way in which the mayoralty can continue to benefit from your transparent love of London".^[56] He also announced that, as a result of his victory, he would resign as Member of Parliament for Henley.^[58]

Mayor of London[link]

Johnson giving a victory speech in City Hall after being elected Mayor of London.

Staff appointments[link]

Johnson assumed control at City Hall on 4 May 2008. He appointed Richard Barnes as his Deputy Mayor on 6 May 2008, as well as appointing the following to newly devolved offices; Ian Clement as Deputy Mayor for Government Relations, Kit Malthouse as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Ray Lewis as Deputy Mayor for Young People.^[59]

The Mayor also appointed Munira Mirza as his cultural adviser and Nick Boles, the founder of Policy Exchange, as Chief of Staff.^[60] Sir Simon Milton has become Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, as well as Chief of Staff.^[59] He appointed Anthony Browne as Policy Director. Kulveer Ranger was appointed to Advisor for Transport and Isabel Dedring to Advisor for the Environment.

Political opponents questioned Johnson's judgment when Ray Lewis resigned on 4 July 2008, shortly after taking up his post, following allegations of financial misconduct during his prior career as a Church of England priest and inappropriate behaviour in respect of a false claim to have been appointed as a magistrate.^[61] Hazel Blears, the UK Communities Secretary, said that "People across the country will note that after just two months, the new Tory administration in London is in complete disarray. Londoners need to know what Boris knew and why the situation has changed."^[62] Kit Malthouse however, London's Deputy Mayor for Policing, defended Lewis and said that he had "dedicated himself to saving young lives in London", regarding his policies on tackling knife crime, and called the Labour Party "ungracious" and accused them of "dancing on his political grave".^[63] Johnson himself said that he was "misled" by Lewis.^[64] On 22 June 2009, Ian Clement resigned after breaking rules by paying for personal items using a corporate credit card.

Alcohol use ban on public transport[link]

On 7 May 2008, Johnson announced plans to ban the consumption of alcohol on the London transport network, effective from 1 June,^[65] a policy described by Jeroen Weimar, Transport for London's director of transport policing and enforcement, as reasonable, saying people should be more considerate on the trains.^[66] The ban initially applied on the London Underground, Buses, DLR and Croydon Trams. The London Overground was added later in June 2008. Press releases said that the ban would apply to "stations across the capital", but did not specify whether this included National Rail stations – especially those stations not served by the TfL lines on which alcohol is banned.

On the final evening on which alcohol was to be permitted on London transport, thousands of drinkers descended on the Underground system to mark the event. Six London Underground stations were closed as trouble began, and a number of staff and police were assaulted. Police made 17 arrests as several trains were damaged and withdrawn from service.^[66]

Forensic Audit Panel[link]

The formation of the Forensic Audit Panel was announced on 8 May 2008. The Panel is tasked with monitoring and investigating financial management at the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority.^[67] It is headed by Patience Wheatcroft, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph. Previously the GLA investigated allegations of financial mismanagement itself.

Johnson's announcement was criticised by Labour for the perceived politicisation of this nominally independent panel, who asked if the appointment of these key Johnson allies to the panel – "to dig dirt on Ken Livingstone" – was "an appropriate use of public funds".^[68] Wheatcroft is married to a Conservative councillor^[69] and three of the four remaining panel members also have close links to the Conservatives: Stephen Greenhalgh (Conservative Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council), Patrick Frederick (Chairman of Conservative Business Relations for South East England and Southern London) and Edward Lister (Conservative Leader of Wandsworth Council).

The panel reported in July 2008.^[70] Its findings included that it had "identified failings in the LDA’s leadership, governance and basic controls which have led to our overall conclusion that the former LDA board was ineffective" and also raised a number of concerns about the value for money achieved on projects that the LDA had funded. However, on the central allegations that the previous administration had misused their powers, the Panel found "their attempts to influence LDA project decisions did not breach any rules or protocols".

2008 Olympics[link]

Johnson was present at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as London's representative to receive the Olympic flag from Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing in order to announce formally London as Olympic host city. At the subsequent handover party held at London House in Beijing, he gave a speech in which he declared 'ping pong is coming home'.^[71]

U.S. presidential election[link]

In August 2008, Johnson broke from the traditional procedure of those in public office not publicly commenting on other nations' elections when he openly endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama for the presidency of the United States.^[72][73] He later wrote an editorial in The Telegraph explaining his decision.^[74]

Resignation of Sir Ian Blair[link]

In October 2008, Boris Johnson forced the resignation of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Ian Blair, hours after taking control of London’s police authority. Those in support of this measure claimed that Blair's handling of certain events, such as the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, bonus payments and bias in favour of a piece of Government legislation left his position untenable, but critics have argued that the forced resignation makes the role of the commissioner more political.^[75][76]

Expenses controversy[link]

In June 2009, it was revealed that Mayoral expenditure on taxi fares had risen by 540% under Boris Johnson's administration, from £729 in 2007/08 to £4,698 in 2008/09.^[77]

Several expense claims for very short taxi journeys were submitted by the Mayor, many which included charges for taxis to wait several hours for the Mayor to use them with the meter running (for example, a return journey from City Hall to Elephant and Castle – a journey of 3 miles – which cost £99.50).^[78]

There are questions about whether some of this expenditure was allowed under GLA rules, which state taxis should be used only when there is no feasible public transport alternative and which ban paying taxis to wait more than 20 minutes.^[79]

Mugging intervention[link]

On 2 November 2009, Johnson intervened in the attempted mugging of a London resident as she was walking home. The victim, documentary film maker and Ken Livingstone supporter, Franny Armstrong, was pushed against a car by a "group of young girls", one wielding an iron bar. Johnson, who rides a bicycle to work, was cycling past when he responded to Armstrong's call for help. Johnson "picked up the iron bar, called after the girls and cycled after them." He also reportedly called the girls "oiks". Johnson then returned to Armstrong and walked her home. Armstrong described Boris as her 'knight on a shining bicycle'. The Mayor's office has, however, declined to comment on the incident.^[80][81]

Young offenders disputed[link]

In 2011, Johnson gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, comparing a 19% re-offending rate among those released from the Feltham Young Offenders' Institution to the then national average of around 78%. The chair of the UK Statistics Authority Sir Michael Scholar, who served as private secretary to former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s, wrote to the committee's chair Keith Vaz MP to tell him the figures Johnson had quoted to a panel of MPs "do not appear to stand up to scrutiny". When Joanne McCartney, a Labour member of the London Assembly, questioned Johnson's use of the statistic, Johnson replied: "There's this guy Scholar writing me letters who sounds... like some sort of Labour stooge."^[82] Johnson later admitted that his officials told him of "caveats" around the data, but pointed out that the revised re-offending rate for the institution of 39% was still substantially lower than the national average.^[83]

Television appearances[link]

[edit] Have I Got News for You

Johnson has appeared on the British television programme Have I Got News for You four times as a guest presenter and three times as a panellist.^[84] The tabloid press, before he became an MP, tagged him as the show's star, even though he had then appeared only twice on a programme that had run for ten years.^[85] He has also taken part in the similar Radio 4 programme, The News Quiz.

On his first HIGNFY appearance,^[86] in 1998, Johnson was chided by Ian Hislop over his previous association with fraudster Darius Guppy (see below). Johnson later claimed the show was "fixed", though he retracted the comment when invited back a year later. When asked why he had come back, Johnson replied to the delight of the audience that it was "basically for the money."

In 2004, Johnson was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award in the entertainment category for his performance on the show in 2003.^[87] Johnson returned to front Have I Got News for You in November 2005. He admitted on the show that he once tried to snort cocaine, but sneezed and failed.^[88] He also hosted Have I Got News for You's Christmas special on 15 December 2006, his fourth appearance as host.

On the DVD commentary (recorded before Johnson's appearances as guest host) of The Very Best of Have I Got News for You, Merton and Hislop affectionately refer to Johnson as "a Wodehousian character", and stated that "he gets better every time".

[edit] Top Gear

Johnson has appeared on television motoring show Top Gear as a "star in a reasonably priced car" (one of the show's features). He set a time of 1m 56s in the Suzuki Liana, finishing nine places from the bottom before they changed car. While nearing the end of his timed lap, he failed to realise that he had accidentally pressed the horn with his arm. After hearing the noise he looked around puzzled and said, "Who hooted at me?"^[89] He returned to the show on 7 December 2008, spinning out on every corner during test runs, before setting a lap time of 1m 57.4s in the Chevrolet Lacetti. His potentially "disastrous" time was caused by the "very wet" conditions.

[edit] Room 101

Appearing in 2003, Johnson nominated boiled eggs, Lynda Lee Potter, smoking bans, Richard Clayderman and people who shout things like "you Tory tosser" at him whilst he's cycling as his selections to put into Room 101, with only the last of the five being rejected. He claimed that his refusal to eat eggs from the age of 6 months was his "first major policy decision".

[edit] The Dream of Rome

Johnson presented a BBC TV series titled The Dream of Rome, which described how ancient Rome united Europe in a way which the modern European Union has failed to do. A book published by HarperCollins followed the series.^[90]

[edit] The Dame Edna Treatment

Originally broadcast on ITV1 on 28 April 2007, Johnson was a guest on The Dame Edna Treatment. He rode a bicycle onto the stage and sat alongside Shane Warne, Alan Alda and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

[edit] Who Do You Think You Are?

On 20 August 2008, Johnson was the subject of the BBC family history programme Who Do You Think You Are?. He was revealed to be a direct, if illegitimate, descendant of George II of Great Britain through his eight times grandmother Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, granddaughter of George II and wife of Friedrich I of Württemberg, and thence through their son Prince Paul of Württemberg and Paul's illegitimate daughter, Adelheid von Rothenburg. Adelheid (known as Caroline) married Baron de Pfeffel, from whom Boris takes one of his middle names.^[91] By his descent from George II of Great Britain he is also descendant of all the other major European royal houses. His Turkish great grandfather, Ali Kemal Bey, who like Johnson was a politician and journalist, was assassinated in the 1920s, following political conflict in Turkey.^[92]

[edit] After Rome

In December 2008 BBC2 aired a two-part documentary written and presented by Johnson, called After Rome, in which he looked at the influence Muslims have had on the world, especially in Europe during the peak of the Islamic Empire (specifically drawn from the Islamic Golden Age).^[93] In this he investigated the current crisis of the "clash of civilisations" between Christianity and Islam, searching for reasons why Islam is hated in the West, and vice versa.^[93][94]

[edit] EastEnders

On 17 July 2009, Johnson filmed a short scene in the British soap opera EastEnders, appearing as himself in a scene with Peggy Mitchell (played by Barbara Windsor).^[95] The episode was broadcast on 1 October. Ken Livingstone accused the BBC of political bias for allowing Johnson to appear in the programme.^[96]

Documentaries[link]

Johnson's period in the Bullingdon Club alongside David Cameron, and his campaign to become President of the Oxford Union, were examined in the Channel 4 docu-drama, When Boris Met Dave, which was broadcast on 7 October 2009.^[97]

Personal[link]

Johnson on a demonstration against hospital closures with Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming (left) and Conservative MP Graham Stuart (centre) on 28 March 2006.

Johnson is one of the most recognisable figures in British politics^{[citation needed]} — partly attributable to his trademark unruly hairstyle (one exception to this trademark was during the 2008 Olympics). He is one of few British politicians identifiable by his first name alone. Reportedly, fearing that this familiarity made him more likeable and was helping his chances during the London Mayoral Campaign, Labour MP Tessa Jowell set up a 'swearbox' where any campaign member referring to him as 'Boris' would pay a fine.^[98] Jowell herself denied these claims. Johnson has since attracted a variety of irreverent names, including "BoJo" (a portmanteau of his forename and surname).^[99]

Johnson has been a frequent target for satirists. The magazine Private Eye pictured him on the front cover of issues 1120 (26 November 2004), 1156 (14 April 2006), and 1214 (11 July 2008). He has featured regularly in its cartoon strip (currently called Dave Snooty and his Pals) as "Boris the Menace" (cf. Dennis the Menace).^[100]

He has shown himself to be outspoken on issues which are treated by some as belonging to the realms of political correctness. In Friends, Voters, Countrymen (2001), Johnson wrote that "if gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men, or indeed three men and a dog."^[101] In recent years Johnson has played down his previous support for the anti-gay law known as Section 28.^[102] and has expressed more moderate views on the issue. Once, Johnson has actually shown apparent acceptance of homosexual rights; three weeks before the London mayoral election, 2012, he prevented the London buses from advertising a Christian campaign which aimed to preach that homosexuality could be "cured." The campaign was to advertise the phrase, "Not gay! Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!" Johnson told the Guardian newspaper that he regarded London as "one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance." He said, "It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses."^[103]

Shortly after the 7 July bombings in 2005, Johnson made the following comments:

To any non-Muslim reader of the Koran, Islamophobia — fear of Islam — seems a natural reaction, and, indeed, exactly what that text is intended to provoke. Judged purely on its scripture – to say nothing of what is preached in the mosques – it is the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers. [...]
The trouble with this disgusting arrogance and condescension [of Theo Van Gogh's killer] is that it is widely supported in Koranic texts, and we look in vain for the enlightened Islamic teachers and preachers who will begin the process of reform. What is going on in these mosques and madrasas? When is someone going to get 18th century on Islam’s mediaeval ass?
....We – non-Muslims – cannot solve the problem; we cannot brainwash them (the suicide bombers) out of their fundamentalist beliefs. The Islamicists last week horribly and irrefutably asserted the supreme importance of that faith, overriding all worldly considerations. It will take a huge effort of courage and skill to win round the many thousands of British Muslims who are in a similar state of alienation, and to make them see that their faith must be compatible with British values and with loyalty to Britain. That means disposing of the first taboo, and accepting that the problem is Islam. Islam is the problem.^[104]

Three years after the bombing, Johnson told the Guardian newspaper the following:

I urge people, particularly during Ramadan, to find out more about Islam, increase your understanding and learning, even fast for a day with your Muslim neighbour and break your fast at the local mosque. I would be very surprised if you didn't find that you share more in common than you thought.^[105]

He has made a number of appearances on television explaining his article on the 7/7 attacks, saying he now believes, after having researched the Qu'ran more in depth, that it is a "religion of peace".^[106]

Johnson is known for his love of cycling and regularly cycles to work. He has been the victim of several bike thefts and has expressed his desire to plant "decoy bicycles throughout Islington and send Navy SEALs in through the windows of thieves".^[107] He introduced a bicycle sharing system modelled on Velib in London in July 2010.^[108] Since becoming Mayor of London he has cut £10m off the budget for new cycle lanes in the capital,^[109] however a spokesman said that the overall investment in cycling in London was increased to a record £55m in 2008; up from £36m in the previous year.^[109]

Controversies[link]

Stuart Collier[link]

Johnson was criticised in 1995, when a recording of a telephone conversation made in 1990 was made public, in which he is heard agreeing under pressure to supply to a former schoolmate, Darius Guppy, the private address and telephone number of the News of the World journalist Stuart Collier. There is no evidence that Boris actually supplied the requested information, even though he promised under duress that he would. Guppy wished to have Collier beaten up for attempting to smear members of his family.^[110][111] Collier was not attacked, but Johnson did not alert the police and the incident only became public knowledge when a transcript of the conversation was published in the Mail on Sunday.^[112] Johnson retained his job at the Telegraph but was reprimanded by its editor Max Hastings.^[1]

'Theft' of cigar case[link]

Boris Johnson has been investigated by the police for the 'theft', in 2003, of a cigar case belonging to Tariq Aziz, an associate of Saddam Hussein, which Johnson had found in the rubble of Aziz's house in Baghdad. Aziz is currently in prison in Iraq, having been convicted of ordering the summary execution of 42 merchants. He faces other charges in relation to the brutal suppression of the Shia Muslim uprising after the first 1991 Gulf War. At the time, Johnson wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph, stating he had taken the cigar case and would return it to its owner upon request.^[113] Despite this admission in 2003, Johnson received no indication from the police that he was being investigated for theft until 2008, leading supporters of Johnson to express suspicion that the investigation coincided with his candidacy for the position of London Mayor. "This is a monumental waste of time," said Johnson.^[114] On 24 June 2008, Johnson was forced to hand the cigar case over to police while they carried out enquiries into whether the Iraq (UN Sanctions) Order 2003 had been breached.^[115]

People of Liverpool[link]

On 16 October 2004, The Spectator carried an unsigned editorial^[116] comment criticising a perceived trend to mawkish sentimentality by the public. Using British hostage Kenneth Bigley as an example, the editorial claimed the inhabitants of Bigley's home city of Liverpool were wallowing in a "vicarious victimhood"; that many Liverpudlians had a "deeply unattractive psyche"; and that they refused to accept responsibility for "drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground" during the Hillsborough disaster, a contention at odds with the findings of the Taylor Report. The editorial closed with: "In our maturity as a civilisation, we should accept that we can cut out the cancer of ignorant sentimentality without diminishing, as in this case, our utter disgust at a foul and barbaric act of murder."

Although Johnson had not written the piece (journalist Simon Heffer later said he "had a hand" in it), he accepted responsibility for its publication.^[117] The Conservative leader at the time, Michael Howard (a supporter of Liverpool FC), condemned the editorial, saying "I think what was said in The Spectator was nonsense from beginning to end", and sent Johnson on a tour of contrition to the city.^[118] There, in numerous interviews and public appearances, Johnson defended the editorial's thesis (that the deaths of figures such as Bigley and Diana, Princess of Wales, were over-sentimentalised); but he apologised for the article's wording and for using Liverpool and Bigley's death as examples, saying "I think the article was too trenchantly expressed but we were trying to make a point about sentimentality". Michael Howard resisted calls to dismiss Johnson over the Bigley affair, but dismissed him the next month over the Wyatt revelations.

Petronella Wyatt affair[link]

In 2004, British newspapers reported that Boris Johnson had had a four-year affair with Petronella Wyatt.^[119] The affair, which had been well hinted at in UK newspaper gossip columns, included passionate London taxi cab rides around St John's Wood during which they would ask the cab driver to insert cassette tapes of Wyatt singing Puccini.^[120] Although Johnson had promised to leave his wife,^[121] after a break-up, they had rekindled their relationship during which Wyatt had become pregnant and then had an abortion; resulting in her mother discovering the affair and reporting it to the press.^[119] Johnson was sacked from his shadow cabinet post by Michael Howard, not because of the affair but because he had lied about it.^[119]

Papua New Guinea[link]

In a 2006 column, Johnson likened Conservative leadership disputes to "Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing" and was criticised in Papua New Guinea. The nation's High Commissioner invited him to visit the country and see for himself, while remarking that his comments might mean he was refused a visa.^[122] Johnson suggested he would add Papua New Guinea to his global apology itinerary, and said he was sure the people there "lived lives of blameless bourgeois domesticity in common with the rest of us". In his defence, he stated "My remarks were inspired by a Time Life book I have which does indeed show relatively recent photos of Papua New Guinean tribes engaged in warfare, and I'm fairly certain that cannibalism was involved."^[123]

Portsmouth[link]

In April 2007 Johnson was called upon to resign by the MPs for the city of Portsmouth after claiming in a column for GQ that the city was "one of the most depressed towns in Southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs".^[124]

Allegations of racism[link]