Johnson is Tory choice to take on Livingstone

The language of class division returned to the main political stage as Boris Johnson was selected to be the Conservatives' candidate to run against Ken Livingstone in the Mayor of London elections next May.

Mr Johnson faced a barrage of insults from Labour MPs and trade union leaders who are determined to stop the Tory from ending Livingstone's period in charge of the capital.

Attacking Conservatives' public school backgrounds might have been difficult when Tony Blair – educated at Fettes in Edinburgh – was Labour's leader. But under Gordon Brown (Kirkcaldy High School) it seems to be open house.

Hazel Blears, Communities Secretary, branded Mr Johnson a "fogeyish, bigoted and upper-class twit" at the Labour conference in Bournemouth. Labour's treasurer, Jack Dromey, weighed in, describing Mr Johnson a " tufty toff from Eton" who was "as genuine as a nine-bob note".

Union leader Steve Hart, London regional secretary of Unite, added: " Gaffe-prone Boris Johnson, with his open mouth, disengaged brain, will spend more time apologising to Londoners than running the capital."

Mr Johnson – like his party leader, David Cameron, a member of the elitist Bullingdon Club when they were at Oxford University – yesterday shrug-ged off the class smears, saying he was going to see off "King Newt", a jokeyreference to Mr Livingstone's passion for reptiles.

The former editor of The Spectator, who will be expected to step down from his safe Commons seat in Henley, Oxfordshire, if he wins, heavily defeated three Conservative challengers for the nomination, polling 15,661 votes to the 1,869 of businesswoman Victoria Borwick, 1,674 of IT consultant Andrew Boff and 609 of councillor Warwick Lightfoot.

One of the reasons for the furious nature of Labour's attacks on Mr Johnson may be his potential for ending Mr Livingstone's seven-years in office. Tony McNulty, the Home Office minister, said that Mr Johnson's selection was" frankly an insult to London". He described Mr Johnson as a "very clever man but a clown".

As a celebrity candidate, who has acquired television fame by appearing on quiz show, Have I Got News For You? Mr Johnson can more than match the high profile of Mr Livingstone.

The bookmaker Coral yesterday gave Mr Johnson short odds of 6-4 but made Mr Livingstone the 1-2 favourite to win and Brian Paddick, the former police chief and the likely Liberal Democrat candidate, the 25-1 outsider.

Mr Johnson campaigned on a promise to replace "bendy buses" with the traditional and much-loved Routemaster double-decker buses. But he is unlikely to get an easy ride.

Upon winning the Conservative nomination yesterday he faced immediate criticism from leaders of the black community for alleged past racist comments.

In a joint letter, the former head of the Commission for Racial Equality Lord Ouseley, the editor of New Nation Michael Eboda and Steve Pope, editor of The Voice, urged Mr Cameron to disown comments by Mr Johnson in which he described black people as "piccaninnies" and Africans as having "water melon smiles".

"Boris Johnson's comments about black people are offensive, insulting and abusive. He should unreservedly withdraw these remarks and David Cameron should dissociate himself from such crude racism," they said.

Mr Johnson's private life is also likely to be reopened to scrutiny. That first hit the headlines following an affair he had with the Daily Telegraph journalist Petronella Wyatt. But the Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, yesterday stood by Johnson, who was chosen in a ballot that was open to Londoners not affiliated to the Tory Party, as well as the party faithful. Mr Cameron declared: "Boris will make an excellent candidate."

Meanwhile, Mr Livingstone remained aloof from the personal attacks on Mr Johnson by his supporters, saying: "I will run on my record of building London's public services."

The leading candidates

KEN LIVINGSTONE, 62, Labour

Alias: Red Ken

Education: Tulse Hill Comprehensive, south London.

Pre-politics: research technician, trained as a teacher.

Known for: Love of reptiles, former leader of GLC, compared Jewish reporter to concentration camp guard.

Policies: extension of congestion charge to west, more low-cost social housing; rolling out of bendy buses.

ALEXANDER BORIS de PFEFFEL JOHNSON, 43, Conservative

Alias: Bozza

Education: Eton College and Oxford University.

Pre-politics: Columnist for The Daily Telegraph and editor of The Spectator.

Known for: Being gaffe prone, cycling.

Policies: wants bring back London's Routemaster buses and scrap bendy buses, now supports congestion charge.

BRIAN PADDICK, 51, Liberal Democrat?

Alias: The Pot Cop

Education: Bec Grammar School, Tooting, London; Sutton Manor High School, Surrey. Oxford University

Pre-politics: Deputy assistant commissioner in Met.

Known for: Soft on cannabis and spoke out over shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Policies: In favour of a no-strike agreement with Tube unions.