Boris: I'll put police on the streets 24 hours a day

The Conservative MP pledged to get far more officers back on the beat by rooting out inefficiencies in the Metropolitan Police.

Launching his mayoral campaign at County Hall, he said that to encourage citizens to challenge yobbish behaviour confidence had to be restored that the police would turn up to deal with incidents.

"I promise you that, as Mayor, I will be wholeheartedly on the side of the active citizen and against the thugs," he said.

CRIME

Mr Johnson made clear he believes the police's battle against anti-social behaviour could be improved.

He said: "I have a huge respect for the police and their dedication and the risks they run and on the whole they are doing a superb job in protecting us against the threat of terrorism.

"But I want to work with the Metropolitan Police service to root out inefficiencies - so we get the police on the beat in the same way they are out on the streets of New York where rates of some violent crime are now below London levels."

His advisers are examining how more police on the streets 24 hours a day, being tried in some London areas, can be extended across the capital which has been rocked by the spate of killings of teenagers.

Mr Johnson, clear favourite to become official Tory candidate to run against Ken Livingstone, stressed that many people often "look studiously away" or "bury our nose in our papers" when faced with aggressive or provocative behaviour because they dare not stand up to yobs for fear of being left to face them alone. The thugs know it and they exploit that lack of collective resolve."

The Tory MP for Henley called on Safer Neighbourhood schemes to be beefed up and stressed that individuals who stood up to young criminals should not suddenly find themselves in trouble with the police.

CONGESTION CHARGE

Mr Johnson also attacked the congestion charge as not working and signalled a major overhaul. He said the £8-a-day fee had failed to cut overall car usage, with jams just made up of more expensive cars driven by affluent people.

Aides said he was looking into satellite tracking devices for a more flexible system. "Almost every day someone asks me whether I will scrap the congestion charge and my answer is that I am not going to scrap something that was sensible in its objectives without a better solution," he said.

"Most Londoners still think it a success in the sense that the number of cars in the central zone has gone down. If it is meant to alleviate congestion, then it is certainly not working.

"If the decline in journeys within the C-charge zone has simply been matched by an increase in journeys around the perimeter, then it is carbon-neutral and an environmental fraud."

TRANSPORT

He backed the Crossrail project, called for a new "iconic" version of the admired Routemaster bus and said Londoners were in "despair", sweltering between Tube stations.

"We don't want any more buck-passing or blame-dodging or not-me-guv-ery. What we want is someone who will focus on getting the job done."

To cheers, he added: "We can design a mobile phone the size of a credit card and yet we cannot produce a system of air-conditioning small enough to fit into the Tube."

HOUSING

Mr Johnson stressed housing was the No1 priority in London, with tens of thousands new homes needed each year. He claimed that new average rooms in the capital were the smallest in Europe.

"We need to build houses that will still be sought after in a century's time for the quality of design and their architecture.

"There is a huge scope to help people on to the housing ladder with more imaginative shared ownership schemes, and lowering the bottom rung of that ladder, so that struggling young Londoners not only have a place they can call home but a stake in the equity of that home."

GRAVITAS

Critics accuse Mr Johnson of being a lightweight political figure. However, he made clear that he was "deadly serious" about his campaign which will be supported by a Cabinet for London. "I reserve the right to make jokes but be in no doubt that I am deadly serious in this campaign."

He attacked Mr Livingstone and his fuel deal with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. "You won't catch me doing deals with Left-wing dictators. Venezuelan slum children are effectively subsidising Transport for London. It's completely Caracas," he said.

Mr Livingstone swiftly hit back: "Boris Johnson's claims to stand for a liberal, diverse city with improved public services is totally contradicted by his long-term support for the Thatcherite policies which produced squalor in London in the 1990s."

CYCLING

Mr Johnson, a keen cyclist, is investigating bike loan schemes for schools and analysing the free bike system in Paris.

OLYMPICS

Children in London households, who face a £20-a-year levy toward the 2012 Olympics, should get cheaper tickets for the Games.

DIVERSITY

Rejecting accusations that he will be a Mayor for the middle classes, Mr Johnson stressed that he would work for everyone whether they live in zone 1 or zone 6. But he called for more adult education classes for immigrants to learn English to help people integrate in the capital.