Boris is right, but will anyone listen?

The tensions that have been bubbling away in the London mayoral contest spilt out into the open today with Boris Johnson accusing Ken Livingstone of lying about both of their tax affairs. On the facts of the matter, it looks pretty clear that Boris is right: he doesn’t use a company to reduce his tax liability.

There are, though, those claiming that accusing Livingstone of being an ‘f***ing liar’ will hurt Boris. But I doubt this; it is hard to imagine Boris as an angry or mean-spirited person.

What this exchange does do, though, is raise the stakes for their televised hustings tomorrow night. I expect that Livingstone will try and rile Boris. The crucial question now is whether this becomes a story about Boris’s temperament or the accuracy of Ken’s statements on the campaign trail.