Even before the events that earned him his place in legal history Adolf

Even before the events that earned him his place in legal history, Adolf Beck was a stranger to luck. The magazine is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, who also own the Littlewoods retail business, one of Liverpool’s oldest firms.Peter Kilfoyle, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, suggested Mr Johnson would have to consider his position as Tory culture spokesman, as Liverpool is bidding to be the European City of Culture.”I don’t know what sort of reception he will get here,” Mr Kilfoyle said “People are very civilised in Liverpool. This helps to explain why Liverpool now has no Tory MPs or councillors. The allegation was rejected outright in the subsequent official inquiry.Though Mr Johnson did not write the offending article, he has accepted responsibility for it as editor of The Spectator.

This allegation was originally made in The Sun, whose circulation in Liverpool has never fully recovered since.Kelvin MacKenzie, The Sun’s editor at the time, said he had published the allegation because of what he had been told by a Tory MP. I will be going as soon as I can next week to apologise in person, and to listen in a spirit of complete humility to local people.”Often tipped as a future Conservative Party leader, Mr Johnson is now fighting for his political life amid the fury roused by an unsigned editorial in the current issue of The Spectator magazine.Commenting on the murder of the British hostage Ken Bigley, who came from Liverpool, the anonymous writer claimed: “Economic misfortune and an excessive pre-dilection for welfarism have created a peculiar, and deeply unattractive, psyche among many Liverpudlians. They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent their victim status; yet at the same time they wallow in it.”The writer went on to accuse “drunken” Liverpool fans of being partly responsible for the 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough stadium, where 96 people died (not 50, as The Spectator claimed). One of the roles undertaken by the multi-tasking Boris is that of Shadow Minister for Culture.A contrite Mr Johnson, who has already issued one apology from his constituency of Henley-on-Thames, added yesterday: “I have been stunned by the hurt this article has caused. I have asked Boris Johnson to visit Liverpool next week and to apologise in person.”This was in line with the warning contained in the Tory leader’s conference speech, earlier this month, that any minister in a future Conservative government who fails to deliver will be sacked.

When you walk through a storm hold your head up high, and you’ll never walk alone – unless your name is Boris Johnson and you’re heading north to apologise to Liverpool. “This is part of an increasing surrender of British interests to satisfy the obsessions of the Bush administration.”Critics of ballistic missile defence argue that it will lead to a new arms race as nuclear-armed states build faster, more powerful missiles to evade the defensive systems.. There was no sign of it as of Friday afternoon, however.”In view of the potential significance of these events it’s extraordinary that MPs don’t yet have access to this agreement,” Sir Menzies said.Malcolm Savidge, MP for Aberdeen North and a leading opponent of missile defence, said it would lead to a revolt among Labour backbenchers. A number of Eastern European countries have indicated willingness, with Poland considered the leading contender.A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The UK has not yet decided whether we need our own missile defence.