Boris aide's 'strong-arm' tactics over top arts job

Boris Johnson was today accused of cronyism as new evidence emerged about his behind-the-scenes battle to appoint an ally to a key arts job.

One of the Mayor's aides attempted to "strong arm" a supposedly impartial system for appointing the chair of the Arts Council in London to win the job for former Standard editor Veronica Wadley, it was claimed.

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw vetoed her appointment to the £7,000-a-year post because he believed the Mayor had ignored Nolan anti-sleaze rules requiring appointments to public jobs to be non-political.

Today it emerged that Munira Mirza, the Mayor's arts adviser, tried to force Ms Wadley's name onto a shortlist for the job despite the belief of others that she knew too little about the arts.

This resulted in a split in the three-person appointment panel, with Ms Mirza insisting the Mayor's wishes must be followed, while fellow panellists Dame Liz Forgan and Sir David Durie backed three supposedly better-qualified candidates.

Newly published correspondence reveals that Dame Liz, head of Arts Council England, wrote to Mr Johnson, warning him about "the reputational risk to us all if three outstandingly well-qualified candidates for this high-profile post are to be treated in a manner that would certainly not stand scrutiny under Nolan rules".

Darren Johnson, Green chairman of the London Assembly, said the paper trail - published after a request from Labour - showed the Mayor had favoured a candidate who had championed his mayoral campaign.

The documents also reveal that Ms Wadley confirmed her interest in the post prior to it becoming available, while Ms Mirza suggested ignoring legal advice to ensure the Mayor's wishes were followed.

The Mayor's spokesman said: "The original process was robust." Ms Wadley was not available for comment.