Mayor's outburst enrages PM

London Mayor Boris Johnson has intervened in startling fashion in the Coalition Government's controversial cuts to housing benefits, incensing Downing St by suggesting that the reforms could cause "Kosovo-style social cleansing" of the poor from London.

The extravagantly spoken Mayor remains engaged in difficult talks with Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, over ways to soften the impact of the reforms on the capital.

He fears that thousands of families could be driven from the centre of the city and forced to live in the suburbs, temporary accommodation or B&Bs.

But he appeared to raise the stakes yesterday with a broadside against Prime Minister David Cameron, voicing the growing unease of MPs with urban seats that the cuts will lead to families relocating.

"The last thing we want to have in our city is a situation such as Paris, where the less well-off are pushed out to the suburbs," Johnson said.

"We will not accept any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London. On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place where they have been living and have put down roots."

His remarks were immediately condemned by Downing St, with the Prime Minister's official spokesman saying Cameron did not agree "with what Boris Johnson has said or indeed the way he said it".

The Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, echoed the sentiment: "In London there are hot spots of very high property prices which create particular dilemmas and difficulties. But I disagree with what Boris Johnson has said on the policy and I certainly and very strongly disagree with the way in which he has expressed his views."

The Government estimates that around 21,000 homes will be affected by the changes, with 17,000 of them in London. Under the reforms, housing benefits will be limited to £250 ($530) a week for a one-bedroom home, or up to £400 a week for a four-bedroom property. Claims will be cut by 10 per cent for those who have received a jobseeker's allowance for more than a year.

The spat is the latest in the difficult relationship between the two senior Tories, who were contemporaries at Eton and Oxford. Since Johnson's successful mayoral bid, he has challenged the Prime Minister over a number of key issues. While he is tolerated within No 10, with advisers to the Prime Minister sticking to the line that "Boris is Boris", patience is said to be wearing thin.

Last year, Johnson derailed his leader's hopes of a smooth party conference by backing calls for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Since then, the Mayor has leapt to the defence of bankers after Cameron condemned them for their role in causing the financial crisis and called for an end to the 50p tax on those earning more than £150,000. Many see Johnson, who is to run for a second term as London Mayor, as the only credible challenger to Cameron.

- INDEPENDENT