London mayor: Johnson forced to remove his deputy mayor after magistrate claim proves false

I said at the time of Boris Johnson's election as Mayor of London that I thought it might be something which David Cameron would come to regret. After all, Boris's team were now the only example of a Tory administration in power and a foretaste of what Cameron's new conservatism might look like.

I avoided commenting 12 days ago when James McGrath was forced to resign over some crass comments concerning African-Caribbean migrants and whether or not they should "go back to the Caribbean".

However, we have now had a second resignation in under a fortnight, and this time it's the deputy Mayor himself who is walking the plank.

This is beginning to look like Cameron's worst nightmare, especially when one considers that this Tory administration is merely two months old.

Last night Ken Livingstone was unforgiving about Johnson's difficulties. "In my entire eight years in office I suffered only one enforced resignation of any of my most senior officials, Lee Jasper - and that only after seven years - and this extreme contrast shows vividly the incompetence of Boris Johnson and his administration," he said.

"It is an equal crisis for David Cameron who, it should be remembered, chose to make his first photo opportunity as Tory leader with Ray Lewis."

The allegations against Lewis were originally of a financial nature, with claims that he borrowed money from his parishioners when he was a Church of England priest in the mid 90's, totalling around £45,000. However, the money is said to have been borrowed from, amongst others, an elderly woman and a man with learning difficulties.

However, the thing that appears to have brought him down is the fact that he is not actually a magistrate, despite his claim - backed by Johnson - that he was.

Johnson is now claiming that he was misled.

But Mr Johnson said his "confidence was shaken" when he was wrongly led to believe that Mr Lewis was a magistrate.

Nor is Lewis showing any regret over this mistake:

In a press conference at City Hall to announce his resignation, Mr Lewis said: "There was some talk in the press of me being or not being a magistrate.

"If you are fully paid-up members of the 'hair splitters' convention it will have made a difference to you whether or not I was appointed or recommended for appointment.

"I've passed all the interviews for it. I've had a letter confirming that I have been recommended for appointment to the board."

As Johnson has stated that his loss of confidence in Lewis was brought about purely on the grounds that Lewis is not actually a magistrate as he claimed, then one can only presume that the Deputy Mayor has just called the Mayor of London a "fully paid-up member of the 'hair splitters' convention".

For Cameron - and for Johnson - this couldn't look any worse than it presently does. At a time when the Tories are supposed to be relishing in the unpopularity of Gordon Brown, we have newspapers filled with story after story about Johnson's collapsing Tory administration.

The Mayor of London's office comes under incredible press scrutiny. Ken Livingstone was continually placed under the spotlight and made it look easy to swat away press accusations. Boris is showing that Ken's skill is not one that he possesses.

Two resignations in the first two months.

As I said at the time, I think David Cameron is one day going to regard Boris' victory as a Pyrrhic one. And nothing that has unfolded so far has made me feel likely to change my mind.

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Tags: Boris Johnson, London Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ray Lewis