Johnson's four-letter fury on tax

Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, right, clashed during a radio debate by all four candidates for the London mayoral election
3 April 2012

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has unleashed a furious foul-mouthed attack on his Labour opponent Ken Livingstone after the pair clashed in a fractious radio debate.

Mr Johnson shouted "It's all f****** lies, it's all f****** lies" after the former mayor claimed on air that the Conservative was channelling his earnings through a private company.

The two men were travelling in a lift up to the roof terrace at LBC 97.3 to be photographed after taking part in a live mayoral debate ahead of next month's elections. Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick and Green candidate Jenny Jones were also in the lift.

Mr Johnson was "visibly shaking with anger" and was "right up in Mr Livingstone's face" when he began swearing, sources claimed.

The outburst came after Mr Livingstone accused the mayor of having "the same arrangements" for dealing with his media earnings as him. Mr Livingstone has come under attack for "tax dodging" in recent weeks over claims that he was paid via a company so he was liable only for corporation tax at 20% instead of income tax.

It is understood the mayor talked to his opponent privately after a business hustings three weeks ago to tell him what he had been saying about his tax arrangements was not true and he was furious when Mr Livingstone then repeated the claims on the airwaves. A spokesman for Mr Livingstone said the candidate stood by his claims.

On the radio show Mr Johnson called the accusation "lies", adding: "I have never used a company to minimise my tax. There was a TV production company which I was briefly a director of but I certainly never ... I have always paid full income tax."

He later issued a statement rebutting the allegations over his tax affairs: "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.

"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."

A spokesman for Mr Paddick said: "Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone clearly hold each other in complete contempt. This should be about Londoners, not the foul mouths and fragile egos of Boris and Ken. Londoners deserve better and it's time for a change."

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