Boris Johnson on ‘hairbrained’ Sherlock barb: ‘The BBC’s raison d’etre is to attack Conservative politicians’

The Mayor of London has responded to the television show after it portrayed him as an 'incoherent' politician responsible for 'hair-brained' schemes

Sherlock Holmes portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC series (BBC)

Boris Johnson has a message for Sherlock. And it’s not a particularly cryptic one, either.

The Mayor of London has responded to the television show, after it portrayed him as an “incoherent” politician responsible for “hair-brained” schemes in a spoof newspaper article shown during Sunday night's episode.

Johnson claimed it was the raison d'etre of the BBC to attack Conservative politicians and suggested the corporation was guilty of political bias.

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Speaking to LBC radio, he said: “So, whatever the BBC may say... You know, they are entitled to spend taxpayers' money attacking Conservative politicians. That's what they do, that's their raison d'etre, and I don't in any way want to discourage them.”

He went on to point out that the show could have been referring to his predecessor, Ken Livingstone.

Fast-fingered viewers could, if they so desired, have paused the programme to read the mock article which flashed up on the screen. The story suggested the “current London Mayor” was turning the Thames into an express waterway to in a bid to tackle the city’s congestion problems.

“The hair-brained [sic] scheme involved chartering disused boats, paying for their conversion into a version of London's famous bus, the Routemaster, but this plan has already foundered after pilot schemes revealed that customers were walking straight off the boat and into the icy currents of the Thames.

The Mayor of London responded to a mock newspaper story that appeared to attack his transport policies in an episode of Sherlock earlier today (PA)

“When asked to explain how the system might move forward, or even be profitable, or perhaps even to explain the point, the Mayor, who was at a self-promotion event, was found to be dithering, incoherent, and self-interested.”

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However, a BBC spokesperson has since denied that they intended to aim the jibe at the Mayor.

“Sherlock is a fictional drama series,” they said. “Both the newspaper and Mayor featured in the episode were entirely fictional and were not named or politically affiliated.”

Meanwhile, during the same interview, Johnson labelled Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg ‘a condom’.

He said: “He's there to serve a very important ceremonial function as David Cameron's lapdog-cum-prophylactic protection device for all the difficult things that David Cameron has to do.”

When asked to clarify, Johnson said that the Deputy Prime Minister was “a kind of shield”, describing him as “a lapdog who’s been skinned and turned into a shield to protect”.