Boris mobbed in Bournemouth

The bumbling MP thinks Jamie Oliver is a "national saint"

Tuesday, 03, Oct 2006 12:00

Boris Johnson was pursued down the street in Bournemouth this evening by more than a hundred journalists convinced he had insulted Jamie Oliver.

The gaff-prone MP for Henley found himself chased along the seafront by a swarm of snappers and hacks after allegedly being rude about the TV chef.

Mr Johnson had also been giving his support to mothers who handed their children pies through the school gates to evade healthy school dinners.

"I say let people eat what they like. Why shouldn't they push pies through the railings?" he reportedly told a Conservative party fringe meeting.

He added: "I would ban sweets from school – but this pressure to bring in healthy food is too much."

Mr Johnson – one of the Tories' education spokesmen – later defended his comments but insisted he did not mean to criticise Mr Oliver, who was a "national saint".

And in the scrum this evening – which included most of the British political press – he was heard to remark: "Don't you think you're over egging it?"

The furore came just hours after a similar mob formed around Tory leader David Cameron when he made a short tour around the stands at the party conference.

Such was the demand for pictures of Mr Cameron – which he pretended to ignore – that one exhibitor had to be rescued from the crush.

Some journalists blamed the hysteria on the gruelling party conference season, which finally ends tomorrow. Others noted the lack of juicy stories from the Tories this week, which left the media with time on their hands.

With Mr Cameron insistent he will publish no formal policies for another year, Boris better look out.