Boris Johnson pledged today to act as a "human bridge" between London's rich and poor as he declared that dealing with family breakdown would be the central mission of his mayoralty.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, the Tory candidate said he would champion both disadvantaged children and teenagers and the many voluntary groups across the city that are struggling to help them.

He said the "most eye-opening" aspect of the election campaign had been meeting those who had suffered from crime and "fatherlessness" and seeing at first hand the work of charities devoted to getting them back on track.

He said Ken Livingstone's "biggest single failure" as Mayor had been to ignore the work of voluntary groups.

Although improving transport and housing would be among his main tasks, the Henley MP made clear that trying to tackle social breakdown - and thereby preventing crime - would be his priority.

His Mayor's Fund, which would raise hundreds of millions of pounds from the City, would top up public money to help youth charities.

Mr Johnson said: "It's about using the power and energy of the Mayor to champion disadvantaged kids and give them opportunities and to champion the voluntary sector working with them.

"I want to join up the two halves of London, to be a sort of human bridge between the great, wealth-creating sector and the real anger, disaffection and disadvantage in the surrounding communities."

Asked what was the main lesson he had learned from running for Mayor, Mr Johnson replied: "The most eye-opening thing has been looking at what the voluntary sector is doing and that they need the support and encouragement of the Mayor.

"I've started to think that this is where politicians should really be devoting their energies - around that whole nexus of issues to do with education, aspiration, giving teenagers and young kids who are going wrong a confidence and hope.

"I suppose that's the experience of fighting the campaign, meeting so many people who have suffered in one way or another." Mr Johnson, a father of four, said the five-month election campaign had underlined the role of charities.

"Around London, I've seen kids who are being taught to read, learn how to fix motorbikes, write plays, make music, box - all manner of things, all by leaders and teachers who are energetic and charismatic," he said.

Helping the worst-off was "very much part of the attraction of the job".

Mr Johnson dismissed Labour's attempts to portray him as out of step with London's ethnic diversity, adding: "There will be important people in the new administration who will be black and who will be Asian and who will represent every community."

But when challenged on his wider views on immigration, he appeared uncomfortable. At first, he sounded the very model of a hardline Tory, saying: "I certainly don't think we should have uncontrolled, uncounted and unfunded immigration.

"Huge numbers came in who weren't properly accounted for and London boroughs have had to deal with the consequences."

Yet when asked if there had been too much, too little or just the right amount of immigration to London in recent years, Mr Johnson refused to answer. "I think immigration has done a fantastic amount of good for London's economy," he said. "I have no hostility to immigration per se."

He added: "There is an issue about population growth overall. One of the Mayor's advisers said he thought London could comfortably accommodate 30 million people. That strikes me as a bit high, to put it mildly."

If Mr Johnson made a success of being Mayor, would he run for Tory party leader one day?

"If we had some ham, we could have ham and eggs - if we had any eggs," he said. "Let's win on 1 May."

BORIS ON ...

Training teams of non-unionised drivers to smash Tube strikes

"I can't pretend it hasn't crossed my mind. I can't pretend that there aren't lots of people who urge me down this road. But I am absolutely convinced that the first thing you have got to do is to sit down and reason with the moderate people in the RMT. Most people in the RMT do a fantastic job with some pretty antiquated Victorian infrastructure. They deserve congratulation but they've got to realise that they can't endlessly have their thumbs on our windpipe."

On Transport for London's anti-motorist stance/fares freeze

"Useable road space is endlessly minimised by aggressive kerbing, these obelisks they put in and phasing of the traffic lights. If you look at their manifesto, their charter and aim is to reduce the effective capacity of the road. Your rage is their joy. That's what these people get off on." What do you get off on? "Public service, working hard. It's a fact that fares are extremely high. I'm just not tempted to say anything more until I am able to see the fare box and work out what the state of TfL's finances is. It would be cheap and easy, a cynical Livingstonian ploy, to make a commitment now about fares."

His private life and perceived lack of seriousness

"I genuinely think, having shaken the hands of thousands and thousands of Londoners for the last five months, even though they are interested - for the same good prurient reasons that newspapers are interested - they are much more interested in how I'm going to reduce crime on their buses and make their streets safer. "This is by far the best thing I've ever tried to do. Insofar as I have to be disciplined and committed and all the rest of it, I will do that. "I know that I simply cannot afford to give the media any sign that I'm not taking it seriously. I do think it is much, much too important to forfeit just for the sake of some image."

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