Boris Johnson - the race charge is starting to stick

Roy Hattersley is now backing Boris Johnson (to lose).

Also in the Guardian, a pattern seems to be emerging. First of all, we had Doreen Lawrence denouncing Johnson (cue outraged Dalestorm). Now we have a letter from several Black and Muslim leaders criticising Johnson's record on race issues and listing his past utterances on th esubject:

They include stereotyping Africans as having "watermelon smiles", calling children "piccaninnies" and calling for a return of the empire. The would-be Tory candidate for London mayor also campaigned against the Macpherson inquiry recommendations and accused Nelson Mandela of leading a "black tyranny".

...The mountain of shocking views penned by Boris cannot be dismissed as one-off eccentricities. Seen together, his articles build a picture of a man utterly unsuited to run a multicultural city like London.

The letter is signed by Karen Chouhan (The 1990 Trust), Eroll Walters (Black Londoners Forum), Simon Woolley (Operation Black Vote), Massoud Shahjareh (Islamic Human Rights Commission), Mohammad Sawalha (British Muslim Initiative).