Boris Johnson will travel to Liverpool later this week to apologise for an editorial in the Spectator which accused the city of wallowing in "victim status" following the death of Ken Bigley.

One shadow minister told the Independent: "Boris has got away with this for a long time. You might get away with it as a backbencher because you do not take the party with you, but it is different on the front bench."

Another Tory MP added: "He is a loose cannon. This was not a nice thing to say. It was bloody insensitive. They put him in that job to calm him down. He is articulate and bright, but I suspect he does not care enough. I don't think he has the killer instinct that you need."