Boris Johnson attack on Ed Miliband is 'wrong and disgraceful'

'Wrong and disgraceful': Boris Johnson has been crticised for attacking Ed Miliband
12 April 2012

Boris Johnson came under pressure today to retract his claim that Ed Miliband was "quietly satisfied" by the scenes of violence during the anti-cuts march.

The Mayor had criticised the Labour leader and his shadow chancellor Ed Balls for failing to set out the alternative in speeches at Hyde Park.

But senior Labour MP Harriet Harman accused Mr Johnson of being "thoughtless, shallow and plain wrong" for suggesting the pair were crying "crocodile tears" over cuts.

She added: "This is typical of Boris Johnson... He should withdraw this disgraceful allegation immediately. Instead of attacking the Labour leader, he should be listening to the hundreds of thousands of people who marched peacefully."

Mr Johnson had suggested Mr Miliband's only solution to the country's economic problems was to "get a load of aggressive crusties and Lefties" to cause "argy-bargy" in London. In his Telegraph column, he added: "The sad thing is that in spite of their crocodile tears, Balls and Miliband will feel quietly satisfied by the disorder - a token, they will tell themselves, of the public feeling that is out there to exploit."

Mr Johnson said 4,500 police officers had been "obliged to waste their time (and our money)" in controlling events as peacefully as they could.

He defended the difficult balance the police faced between protecting the rights of protesters and keeping the violence in check.

Later, Mr Johnson was quizzed over how he knew the Labour pair welcomed the violence but refused to answer.

He told LBC radio: "The point I was making there is that I do think it's a bit odd to have a march for the alternative when it's not entirely clear what the alternative is."

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