Mayor's first Cabinet signing is inspiring black youth worker

The Tory Mayor's first appointment was an inspirational black youth worker who became a key player in his election campaign.

Ray Lewis, director of the Eastside Young Leaders Academy in Stratford, will be Deputy Mayor for Young People.

The former prison governor will work with community groups to tackle violent crime which has claimed the lives of 12 London teenagers this year.

Mr Johnson, who is expected to act as de facto "chairman" of City Hall with competent executives to help, will announce further members of his mayoral cabinet later today, including several more deputies.

City Hall could also see the arrival of several heavyweight Conservative party staffers to ensure the leadership keeps a tight leash on the new Mayor.

Mr Johnson's transition team is headed by acting chief-of-staff Nicholas Boles, who has been working for months preparing his permanent staff.

Former think-tank chief Mr Boles, selected to fight a safe Tory seat at the next general election, will leave in the autumn to concentrate on his own campaign. He was David Cameron's favourite to become the Tory candidate for mayor but transferred his campaign-team and many of his ideas to Mr Johnson after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He has since been given the all-clear.

Heavyweight strategist James McGrath, who was a key player in the Back Boris campaign, will be his acting political adviser, helping him in his negotiations with Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police.

The Australian is a former aide to shadow chancellor George Osborne and is understood to be weighing up whether to stay on at City Hall for more than just a few weeks, return to Tory headquarters to work on the next general election campaign or throw himself straight into the crucial Crewe by-election this month.

He was brought on to Mr Johnson's campaign team as a deputy to the formidable Lynton Crosby, who will be returning to his native Australia.

Dan Ritterband, the highly rated campaign director, may take the role of marketing despite his hankering for the chief-of-staff job.

It is believed that Sir Simon Milton, the Westminster council leader, could advise on housing and planning - Westminster is known for its opposition to high-rise towers. Mr Johnson's campaign-PR team - Bexley councillor Katie Perrior and fellow director Jo Tanner - were widely credited with preventing the gaffe-prone Mr Johnson from getting into hot water during the run-up to polling day.

The pair, who run their own firm, will remain on call for the next couple of weeks until the new Mayor's media operation is up and running, led by staffer Ed Staite in the short-term. His colleague Sara Cadisch will stay on as events manager. Another likely contender for Team Boris is Warwick Lightfoot, who stood against Mr Johnson in the contest to be the party candidate.

He is favourite to be appointed economics adviser while Mr Johnson's two other Tory rivals, Andrew Boff and Victoria Borwick, have gained Assembly seats. Steve Norris, the Tory who lost to Ken Livingstone in the 2004 elections, is also thought to have a place on the team. Mr Johnson could be helped in his promised tough stance on crime by American Bill Bratten, head of the Los Angeles Police Department and credited with the success of zerotolerance policies in New York.

The Mayor has announced that Labour MP Kate Hoey has agreed to serve as a non-executive director advising him on sport and the Olympics.

The former sports minister could still face disciplinary action from the Labour Party by working for a Tory mayor, even in an unpaid capacity.

It also emerged that Dave Wetzel, a senior transport official appointed by Mr Livingstone, has resigned.

One of Mr Livingstone's most colourful appointees, the former bus conductor and GLC councillor Mr Wetzel, made clear that he had been effectively told he would be removed from the board of Transport for London.

He said: "It's pretty stark. I've even taken my pictures off the wall (at City Hall). For the first time in eight years both the in-tray and the out-tray are totally empty. I'm open to go anywhere, do anything. I need to earn a crust to survive."

Mr Johnson has put dealing with soaring knife and gun crime at the top of his list of priorities as Mayor. His appointment of Mr Lewis will send out a strong message that he intends to work with all communities in London.