Boris Johnson aide Guto Harri joins News International

Boris Johnson's key former aide joins News International as head of communications today in a move he admits will be seen as "part of an irresistible geometrical pattern" between the Conservative party and the company.

Guto Harri, a former BBC political correspondent who served as the Tory Mayor's director of external affairs until two weeks ago, takes the helm in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

The move has surprised many observers.