Tom Bower pulls his punches with his life of Boris Johnson

Tom Bower explains in his acknowledgements that this is not an authorised biography and he did not seek Boris Johnson’s co-operation. Instead, he followed his usual biographical method of interviewing well over 100 people who knew Boris, some named, some not. Obvious sources are his mother Charlotte, his sister Rachel, his first wife Allegra, his long-serving mistress Petronella Wyatt, but not his second wife Marina, nor his current fiancée Carrie Symonds.

He also explains, rather coyly:

Readers should be aware that Boris Johnson is not a stranger in my home. Veronica Wadley, my wife, has known him as a journalist since he joined the Daily Telegraph in l988… Their long relationship is one of colleagues rather than friends. She played no part in researching or writing this book.

Maybe not — but as editor of London’s Evening Standard, Wadley played a major part in Boris’s ascent. The crucial year was 2007.