Johnson caught on film swearing at taxi driver in late-night row

Boris Johnson’s office has leapt to his defence after the London Mayor was filmed engaged in a four-letter tirade with a London cabbie.

The bicycling Mr Johnson was seen telling a black-cab driver to “f*** off and die” after the cabbie harangued him late at night in north London.

The row was thought to have been over rival minicab booking service Uber whose activities have led to protests by London taxi drivers over what they see as unregulated competition.

The 10-second video, obtained by the Sun and Daily Mail, shows the driver leaning out of his window and shouting at Mr Johnson: “You are one of them mate, that’s what you are. One of them.”

Mr Johnson, the newlyelected Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, then replies: “Why don't you f*** off and die – and not in that order.”

As he drives away, the taxi driver shouts: “Yeah b******s, hope you die.”

Black-cab drivers have been critical of Mr Johnson over his handling of Uber, and the Islington incident sparked Labour’s London Assembly transport spokesperson Val Shawcross to say: “The mayor has the power to put in place a strategy to tackle the challenges facing the industry.

“But so far he’s completely failed to respond to any of our calls to do just that.”

However, a spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “Contrary to Labour’s claims, the mayor is in fact one of the black taxi trade’s biggest champions.”

A Licensed Taxi Drivers Association spokesman said: “I don’t know know if this row involving Boris Johnson was over Uber, but the problem of Uber is really something that the courts need to sort out.”