Cliff M

Boris tells of 'grovelling' Oct 21 2004 Liverpool Echo TORY MP Boris Johnson writes about "Operation Scouse-grovel" in this week's edition of the magazine he edits. In a follow-up to the editorial in last week's Spectator which caused outrage over accusations that Liverpool wallows in its victim status, the shadow arts minister, who was in the city yesterday, says: "I am writing this in a cold, damp, three-star hotel in Liverpool, and I have to admit I don't want to go out. "Not only is it raining, there is also the chance that I will be beaten up. As everyone seems to know, I am on a mission to apologise to the people of this great city, and my heart is in my boots. "The operation is bedevilled with difficulty, not least that no-one seems to want to accept my apology." He said there was a plan to sign a book of condolence for Ken Bigley, but that was reluctantly rejected on the grounds that it would look as if they were playing politics with a tragedy. The Henley MP went on: "But what makes Operation Scouse-grovel even more depressing is that I am attacked by my own troops for embarking on it." He said his own media correspondent Stephen Glover - to whom he had just granted a sizeable rise - had said he was acting like a whipped cur for apologising at the behest of Mr Howard.

There's also no proof they were from Liverpool. I'd put money on it that most were Mancs or other pathetic plebs.

How can he be a shadow minister after that? Particularly when his remit encompasses SPORT! What makes me howl in disbelief is the clown then exacerbates his precarious position by restating part of the article (mawkishness) which caused so much outrage, when asked for a quote! "When yer in an 'ole, stop diggin"

More power to your elbow..makes me proud to be a Scouser!

Can I urge you most strongly to show tact and maturity should you plan to send e-mail responses to the media, political representatives or those expressing an opinion on public sites which does not concur with ours. Hatred and ranting will play right into their hands - let's PROVE them wrong by a show of dignity which shames these perpetrators of ignorance.

Just sent him an e-mail I cannot believe the racist, scurillous nonsense you posted to the BBC site regarding the above article. For a man in a position of responsibility you hold absurd, ill-informed and ignorant views of the world around you, and of Liverpool in particular. Should you wish to argue the case, I will be willing to respond.

Comments to The Spectator website: As a frequent visitor to the city of Liverpool, I was astounded by the inaccuracies to to be found in your article. This piece reads as though from the height of the Hatton administration of the city. Liverpool has moved onward and upward since then: World Heritage City Site, European Capital of Culture 2008, plus one of the fastest dropping unemployment rates in the UK. It reads as though there is a hidden agenda and/or extreme prejudice from the author of the article, something I am disappointed to see you have allowed. Finally, the diabolical comments about The Hillsborough Disaster! 96 people perished on that tragic afternoon - not "over 50" and they weren't all from Liverpool either, the football club like many other succesful teams drawing its support from a wide geographical area. For your writer to accuse the tragedy of being caused or contributed to by drunken fans at the back is outrageous - particularly as the inquiries into the event found no evidence for any such claim. I believe you have made a grave error of judgement in publishing such ill-researched, biased nonsense, and my sympathies go to the loved ones of both Mr Bigley, and those who lost relatives at Hillsborough. Cliff Marsden Newcastle-upon-Tyne

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