Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964 in New York City), better known as Boris Johnson, is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He is Member of Parliament for Henley, edits The Spectator and writes a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Bigley editorial

On 16 October 2004 The Spectator carried an editorial 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 into the causes of the disaster, whilst the reaction to Bigley's murder in Liverpool was, in fact, low key, consisting of no more than a two minutes' silence organised by the city council and a sparsely-attended service at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. 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."

Related Topics:
16 October - 2004 - The Spectator - Kenneth Bigley - Liverpool - Hillsborough disaster - Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

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Although Johnson had not written the leader (journalist Simon Heffer later said he "had a hand" in it), he accepted responsibility for it. Conservative leader Michael Howard 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. 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 by the media and general public); but he apologised for the article's wording (saying "I think the article was too trenchantly expressed but we were trying to make a point about sentimentality") and for using Liverpool and Ken Bigley's death as examples. Johnson appeared on a BBC Radio Merseyside phone-in show, in which Paul Bigley (brother of the slain hostage) flatly told Johnson: "You are a self-centred pompous twit - get out of public life". Michael Howard resisted calls to dismiss Johnson over the Bigley affair, but dismissed him the following month for other reasons.

Related Topics:
Simon Heffer - Michael Howard - Diana, Princess of Wales

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Against all odds the contrition tour has left its mark on the city of Liverpool, albeit one whose longevity has yet to be determined. City tour guides are reported to include pointing out locations where Johnson made his apologies alongside the more traditional objects of tourist interest such as the Liver bird statues and the inevitable Beatles.

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