From buses to kippers, Boris Johnson keeps being caught out

Boris Johnson began his leadership bid under the cloud of a potential private prosecution.

In unusual circumstances for a would-be prime minister, Mr Johnson faced allegations of misconduct in public office over his discredited referendum pledge to funnel £350m a week from the EU to the NHS.

High Court judges eventually quashed the court summons, ruling it was “not new” to make false claims during a political campaign.

Other politicians might be cowed by such an experience, which could have resulted in an embarrassing and potentially costly legal battle. But Mr Johnson barely skipped a beat.

Instead of playing it safe, the Tory frontrunner brazened it out – telling a press conference during the contest that he was “proud” of his history of gaffes.

Aside from his past record, Mr Johnson has notched up plenty of blunders during the contest itself.

There have been serious missteps, such as his failure to support US ambassador Sir Kim Darroch over leaked diplomatic cables, and his promise of tax cuts for high earners that fell flat.

Then there have been the more bizarre twists, such as whether there was any truth in his tale about the theft of his beloved bicycle, Bikey.

The former foreign secretary told a Tory leadership debate that the theft of his bike was the last time he cried, as he made an argument for extra police on the streets.

But his story was cast into doubt when one of his newspaper columns from 2014 emerged, where he complained Bikey had been written off after he rode it into a pothole during a storm.

Mr Johnson also found himself in the middle of a media firestorm when photos emerged of his reconciliation with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds after the pair were recorded by neighbours having a late-night row.

The pictures of the couple in the countryside were widely mocked for being staged, which Mr Johnson repeatedly refused to confirm or deny.

In the final days of the contest, Mr Johnson was also accused of “fake news” for trying to claim that British kipper producers were being hit by EU safety rules.

Dramatically brandishing a kipper at a Tory hustings, he told activists that producers in the Isle of Man were “furious” at the extra costs.

But a European Commissioner revealed the regulations were imposed by the UK government, and told Mr Johnson that as a potential future prime minister he should “keep a cool head”, warning him: “A fish rots from the head down.”