LONDON -- This isn't the first time Boris Johnson's words have gotten him into trouble. London's gregarious mayor, known for his sometimes politically incorrect and colourful outbursts, was captured on camera telling taxi driver to "fuck off and die, and not in that order."
The footage, filmed by a passer-by and obtained by The Sun, shows the cab driver shouting at Johnson -- who was on his bicycle at the time -- accusing him of failing to protect the taxi industry in London from the rising use of private hire cars.
“You’re one of them mate. That’s what you are. One of them," the taxi driver shouted at the mayor from the window of his black cab.
Johnson shouted back: "Why don't you fuck off and die, not in that order."
While the taxi driver responded: "Yeah bollocks, hope you die," before Johnson said "sure" and cycled away.
The confrontation happened just after midnight on Friday, June 5, in Islington, North London. Speaking to a Sky News reporter on Thursday about the incident, Johnson, who is also a member of parliament since the recent election, said the exchange was "under the heading of getting the ball back over the net. It was a gentle attempt at return of serve," he said, making a tennis analogy.
The general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, Steve McNamara, dismissed the incident, saying: “I don’t suppose that the cabbie went home that night and cried himself to sleep.”