No apologies

Most people know him only as a middling host of Have I Got News For You, but Boris Johnson used to be mayor of London. His successor, Sadiq Khan, this week stuck the knife into poor old Boris.

In a statement which only referred to “the previous mayor” (elevating Boris, perhaps unfairly, to Voldemort status) Mr Khan took aim at several aspects of his the mop headed Etonian’s record.

Singling out one flagship Boris project – a much vaunted register of public land– Mr Khan pointed out that it has a few sites which aren’t exactly suitable for housing.

These include the National Gallery, British Museum and Number 10 Downing Street. We all knew Boris had his eye on No10, but we didn’t think it was for an affordable housing scheme.

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Last week, it was heartening to see the supposed bastions of democracy squabbling like schoolchildren to mark the passing of the Housing and Planning Bill into law.

In a spat that left neither side covered in glory, the Labour Lords Twitter account called on Brandon Lewis, housing and planning minister, to apologise to Lord Bob Kerslake for his “attack” on him in The Sun. Mr Lewis said Lord Kerslake is a home owner who was trying to stop others reaching the same lofty heights.

In response Mr Lewis asked if Labour would apologise for “trying to block building of affordable housing for first-time buyers”?

Needless to say neither side apologised, proving Elton John right when he lamented that sorry seems to be the hardest word.

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Tom Murtha has made a name for himself over the last couple of years as the conscience of the sector, through his campaigning for social rent and support for campaigners Social HOusing Under Threat (SHOUT).

It seems the former Midland Heart chief executive has now found an additional cause to fight for: asparagus.

Mr Murtha tweeted about his local Waitrose in Alcester failing to stock fresh asparagus. “I live near the main English growing area for asparagus.

The fields are full but @waitrose fails to provide them. Sad.” He tweeted somewhat mournfully. Closed Circuit’s spy suggested a new campaign group to strike fear into supermarket managers around the country, which could be called Fresh Asparagus undeR Threat (FART). Mr Murtha seemed open to the idea. Watch this space.