Boris Johnson returns to London. But has he blown his mayoral re-election campaign?

Boris is returning to London from Canada (Photo: Getty)

Boris is coming home. Around 48 hours after riots first began in the city he runs, the London Mayor is ending his summer holiday and flying back from Canada. He'll be back in City Hall tomorrow lunchtime, apparently.

No doubt he's travelling as fast as he can. But is he too late? On this timetable, we'll be into a third daily news cycle dominated by riots before His Blondness is back on the scene. That's almost 72 hours in which one of the world's greatest cities has seen the localised breakdown of law and order: by now, many voters will have drawn very clear impressions of the riots and of the people responsible for upholding the law in their city.

Mr Johnson's opponents have been happily exploiting his absence. That may be opportunism, but nobody gets ahead in politics by failing to take opportunities: expect to hear a lot more about the events of this week in next year's elections. It will take a strong performance from Mr Johnson to undo the damage that has already been done to his re-election prospects.

PS. Spare a thought for Kit Malthouse, Boris’ feisty deputy. Earlier today, he was asked why the Mayor did not return, and insisted that there was no need.

What’s more, he suggested, Boris returning would be “rewarding” the rioters. He said: “I think we are all wary of allowing these criminals to call the shots about what happens in London.”

Hmm…