Tessa Jowell MP, Labour's London Minister, today issued a campaign message to activists as the London Labour Party stepped up its biggest doorstop campaign ever. In an email to Labour's campaigners across the capital, she said:

"As postal voting starts in the London elections I would like to thank you for all your support so far and urge you to keep up the hard work to help us ensure Londoners understand the risk that Boris Johnson poses to our great city.

"At a time of global economic uncertainty, the last thing Londoners need is an incompetent Boris Johnson in City Hall taking risks with their cost of living. Boris Johnson's expensive election promises on buses and the tube would lead to higher ticket prices.

"Thousands of Londoners' hopes for their own home would be wrecked by his plan to scrap the policy to make fifty per cent of all new homes affordable for ordinary Londoners."

Arming canvassers with the facts to expose the true nature of the Tory Mayoral candidate, Tessa Jowell said in her message to Labour supporters:

"Boris Johnson has never represented our city and is out of touch with Londoners. He spent his career in Parliament voting against gun crime, including five-year sentences for people caught illegally carrying guns, and opposing the Congestion Charge. He even opposed making London's museums free for every family.

"Boris Johnson is trying to win the election by making huge, expensive promises and not saying how they could ever be paid for. If he did try to keep his word once in office, the only result would be big increases in council tax.

"Ken knows London and has always put Londoners first. Ken will fight for a better deal for Londoners concerned about the cost of living and enjoying a better quality of life in London. Londoners are worried about their future in a time of global economic instability and concerned about serious issues like gun crime in London."