Russell Brand 'wants Boris Johnson's job' and could stand for Mayor of London on 'anti-politics' ticket

Brand, who previously described voting as a waste of time, has told close friends he wants to succeed Tory Boris Johnson in 2016

Russell Brand was in typically combative form during his promotional interview with Newsnight's Evan Davis

Comedian Russell Brand has refused to comment on suggestions he could mount a bid to become Mayor of London.

Brand, who previously described voting as a waste of time, has told close friends he wants to succeed Tory Boris Johnson in 2016, according to the Mail on Sunday.

He is apparently considering standing on an independent "anti-politics" ticket.

A spokeswoman for the comic and actor said: "We are not commenting."

Brand's new book, Revolution, includes some clues as to his platform, should he decide to be a candidate.

He admits he "can't get my head around economics", declares his support for "collectives", and wants to ban fracking and the monarchy.

On Friday Brand said he was "open-minded" about the idea that the US government was behind the 9/11 attacks as he made a second appearance on BBC2's flagship Newsnight progamme.

Pressed by presenter Evan Davis on comments in his book about the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, Brand refused to rule out the possibility that the American government was behind them, highlighting what he described as the "interesting" relationship between the families of former US president George Bush and al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden..

Nominations for the London mayoral election will not close until around five weeks before the contest in May 2016.