Ken’s partner loses job in Boris’s clearout

Boris Johnson has sacked Ken Livingstone's partner and mother of two of his five children, Emma Beal (pictured), from her job at City Hall. The removal of Beal, who had worked as the former London mayor's 'administrative manager' on a reputed £96,000 annual salary, is seen as the first installment of a larger plan by Johnson to eradicate the worst excesses of nepotism and political correctness that had flourished under his predecessor.

Four other senior female staff, known as "Ken's wimmin", are also out of jobs. Jude Woodward, Livingstone's cultural and events advisor, Emma St Giles, his senior advisor on the creative industries and Eleanor Young, his chief planning officer, all found their jobs deleted. The position of women's advisor, held by Labour activist Anni Marjoram, has been scrapped altogether.

While Tories will be delighted by this not unexpected turn of events, they are also having to contend with the loss of one their own. Bob Diamond, the chief executive of Barclays Capital, who Johnson brought in to run his much touted Mayor's Fund, is leaving London in order to expand Barclays' investment banking arm in the US. The move means he will no longer be able to play a central role in the operations of the multi-million-pound fund, designed to help underprivileged young Londoners.