A row has broken out after a stash of fine wine was found in a cupboard in the London Mayor's office.

Conservative Boris Johnson said he discovered "a fridge, stocked with several bottles" in one cupboard and an "astonishing collection of wine" in a second after taking over from Labour's Ken Livingstone.

Mr Johnson said he stumbled across the bottles while exploring "nooks and crannies" in his "cavernous office" but admitted: "Whether they are Greater London Authority bottles of wine or his own we have yet to discover."

Mr Livingstone said there was no wine in the office and described the comments as "a libel", adding: "I have never bought a bottle of fine wine in my life."

But a spokesman for the Mayor confirmed a cupboard in the office was filled with wine left behind by the previous administration.

A member of City Hall staff counted 39 bottles - 11 of Sancerre, 10 of Chateauneuf du Pape, one bottle of 1998 Rioja, 11 bottles of other Riojas and six bottles of "cheaper" wine.

The spokesman said: "It was always intended as a playful, throwaway remark but, since Mr Livingstone objects to that, we are happy to point out that the truth is there was a stash of wine in the office."

The spat overshadowed the new Mayor's announcement that he believes voters should be able to have their say on who runs New Scotland Yard.

Mr Johnson said it is wrong that there is no "democratic mechanism" to hold the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to account and suggested that he should have the power to hire or fire whoever is in the Commissioner's office.

Some City Hall watchers may choose to interpret the Mayor's remarks as the first step in ousting New Labour favourite Sir Ian Blair, but Mr Johnson insists he has a "productive working relationship" with Sir Ian.

He said: "I think it is important that people are going to come to City Hall and say: 'Hey, what are you doing about knife crime?'.

"And if people are going to hold the mayor politically to account there should be some mechanism by which the Mayor can hold the police to account."

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