City residents will doubtless have noted with some amusement the long-running feud between Ken Livingstone, the elected Mayor of London, and the capital’s tireless moral custodian, the Evening Standard.

Indeed, spotting the latest press attack on Livingstone over your neighbour’s shoulder on the Tube is as much a part of commuter life as unexpected cancellations and being stop-searched for explosives by over-enthusiastic armed police.