Jeremy Paxman rejects offer to stand for London mayor
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Version 0 of 1. Jeremy Paxman has revealed that he was invited to see David Cameron to discuss becoming the next Conservative candidate for mayor of London. The former Newsnight presenter said the offer originated in a joke that Boris Johnson made on Paxman’s farewell edition of Newsnight, when he described him as “the last one-nation Tory working at the BBC”. At a literary festival, Paxman later conceded that “one nation Tory” was a fair description of him. This led to an offer to see Cameron, Paxman said on Friday. “I was indeed approached about the gig [the mayoral nomination] and invited to see David Cameron to discuss the idea,” he said. “I decided a week ago that I wouldn’t take it on for all the éclairs in Paris.” Paxman, who has signed to Channel 4 to work on its 2015 election coverage, bowed out of Newsnight this year after a quarter of a century with the flagship current affairs show. Johnson is due to remain as mayor until 2016 and a Tory source said it was a bit early to be seeking a candidate. The entrepreneur Ivan Massow is the only person to declare he will seek the Tory nomination so far. Andrew Sparrow |