Few Londoners have entirely English descent, and Boris is no exception. He describes himself as a "one man melting-pot", with French, Turks & Germans among his ancestors.

Like many Londoners, this has not been his only home. He was born in 1964 in New York, moved to London when he was five years old and went to Primary School in Camden.

He later won a scholarship to Eton and Oxford and after graduating he moved back to the Capital. Much though he envies and admires the City, he lasted a week as a management consultant before retreating into journalism. Over the last twenty years, he has worked for The Wolverhampton Express and Star, The Times and The Telegraph, churning out well over a million words. He was editor of The Spectator for six years.

He has published several books, and regularly appears on TV. Most notably, he has been a contestant on Have I Got News For You and has produced a series on Roman History from his book of the same name, The Dream of Rome.

He fought Clwyd South in the 1997 General Election and in 2001, was elected MP for Henley. Since then, he has held shadow posts as Vice Chairman, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Shadow Minister of Higher Education.

As well as being a passionate cyclist - he has had many near-misses with bendy buses - he enjoys painting, playing tennis and spends much of his time bringing up his four children with his wife Marina in North London.