It appears that no one is safe from criticism from London Mayor Boris Johnson, whether it is Liverpudlians, David Cameron, or, it now seems, journalists. Before the Institute of Public Policy Research on Monday morning, Johnson levelled a broadside at his former colleagues from Fleet Street and beyond in defence of London 2012.
"I have read semi-satirical articles by otherwise reputable journalists," Johnson said, "in which they claim that London will be gridlocked and expensive and dominated by the whizzing limousines of Olympic bureaucrats throwing up road spray in the faces of the tramping and ticketless multitudes."
Never one to pull his punches, or skimp on colourful imagery, Johnson rejected the accusations that next year's Olympics will cause nothing but trouble for the capital. "This is complete and utter nonsense and... if you obeyed these miserable journalists you would be making a serious mistake," the Mayor insisted – while the attending media no doubt sulked over being called miserable.
Johnson including journalists in the group of "fat cats" who he believes are clouding the picture of what London will actually look like next summer and misleading the public through their misanthropy.
"We are now effectively demystifying Olympic transport so that people know what is expected of them and how to organise their deliveries and I genuinely believe that when the Games are underway we will look back at the anxieties as a kind of Millennium Bug that never materialised," Johnson said, before setting the record straight on the numerous facts and figures surrounding the Olympics.