Boris breaks from his leader to offer note of optimism

Boris Johnson evoked the film Apocalypse Now as he urged partying Londoners not to be downcast in the face of gathering economic gloom.

The capital's Tory Mayor delivered a more optimistic new year message than his leader, David Cameron, and appeared to back Gordon Brown's vision of spending his way out of recession. Mr Johnson promised extra cash this year for combating poverty, improving public transport and tackling crime as a way of boosting recovery.

In a video message projected on to the wall of a building on the South Bank shortly before fireworks heralded the new year, he told revellers: "There are those who say we should look ahead to 2009 with foreboding.

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"I want to quote Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now when he says, 'Some day captain, this war is going to end'. And some day this recession is going to end. We can speed the demise of this recession if we all help the poorest in our community and if we make the vital investment that we need in our mass transit system and in fighting crime, so that London emerges at the end better placed to compete and entrenched in its position as the greatest city on earth."

Mr Cameron had warned that economic recovery would be slow and accused Mr Brown of "bombing" Britain to the brink of bankruptcy.