Anne Robinson has claimed that she was asked to be the official Conservative candidate for London Mayor back in 2007.

She told The Independant: “I don’t think I’ve ever revealed this, but, before the Tories asked Boris to be their candidate for Mayor of London, they asked me if I’d stand.

“I wasn’t interested. At the time, there was no candidate and they were obviously casting around. After me, they probably moved on to [Jeremy] Clarkson.”

A spokesperson for Johnson replied: “Boris was the choice of ordinary Conservatives and people in London.

“The only thing he said at the time was ‘I fear no man’, and you can probably add woman to that. Even Anne Robinson.”