Godfather text throws horse’s head into Boris and Cameron relationship
As a proud Classicist, Boris Johnson normally looks to ancient Rome for his Italian references.
But when he received a threatening text message from David Cameron's inner circle, the Mayor of London was confronted with a quote that owed more to the Godfather than Cicero.
After rocking the boat at the Tory conference over the party's Europe policy, Mr Johnson was sent a classic Mafia-style warning: "La vendetta è un piatto che va mangiato freddo."
The text, received in the early hours on his mobile phone from a key aide of the Tory leader, translates as: "Revenge is a dish best eaten cold."
The ominous message summed up the irritation felt by some around Mr Cameron after the Mayor disrupted the party gathering in Manchester two weeks ago by demanding a British referendum on an EU treaty even if it had been ratified by other states.
His remarks briefly reopened the party's rows over EU and threatened to derail the Tory leader's hopes of a smooth conference.
At the time, all sides insisted publicly that Mr Johnson, who wowed the conference with a barnstorming speech, still had good relations with Mr Cameron. Rumours of an abusive text surfaced during the conference although the sender's identity was a mystery. "Given the hour it was sent, it was decided it could be safely ignored," a friend of Mr Johnson said.
But today Nick Boles, one of Mr Cameron's key aides drafting the party's implementation plan for Government, confessed to sending the message.
"Boris and I are old friends," he said. "Boris is not the only one who can express himself in ornate language. I would also point out that I began this particular message by saying that I was one of his biggest fans."
He added: "I know Boris will be disappointed but you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get hold of a horse's head these days."
Mr Boles was Mr Johnson's interim chief of staff soon after he won the mayoralty last year. However, some around the Mayor have hinted that Mr Boles was responsible for some of the more chaotic events of the early handover period, including a failure to check on ousted deputy mayor Ray Lewis.
Mr Boles said that Mr Cameron, shadow chancellor George Osborne, and Andy Coulson, the director of communications, did not know about the late-night text.
The mayor's spokesman said the message had not come from anyone in Mr Cameron's office. A senior Tory source said: "This was definitely Nick freelancing. David knew nothing about it."
Mr Boles, a director of the implementation team, is an influential figure in "Team Cameron".
Ominously for Mr Johnson, it is claimed that Mr Boles may, for example, have a say in whether the Conservatives commit funds to the Crossrail project. Mr Johnson has failed to win an cast-iron pledge from Mr Cameron or Mr Osborne that the key transport project will be protected from spending cuts.
Mr Boles, Tory candidate for Grantham, campaigned to be selected as the party's mayoral candidate before pulling out on health grounds.
Frustration with Mr Johnson among Cameron aides is likely to boil over again if he makes a further intervention on Europe. With Czech President Vaclav Klaus the last remaining obstacle to ratification, and indicating he is about to give up his opposition, Mr Cameron is facing one of the biggest decisions of his career - and won't want any more noises off from the Mayor. In English, Italian or Latin.
