Boris was mayor of London when he made the comments (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Former London mayor Boris Johnson said ‘health and safety fears are making Britain a safe place for extremely stupid people’ in a piece he wrote eight years ago.

And it has not aged well.

People flock out of pubs and restaurants on first weekend of 10pm curfew

In 2009, the Foreign Secretary wrote about his disdain for health and safety campaigners.

The piece was brought back to light this week following the Grenfell Tower block fire, which has left 58 people presumed dead.


It follows his 2014 decision to slash fire services – which he was reminded of last week.

In the 2009 article for the Telegraph he said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a big hand for this year’s winner of the prize for the Most Successful Special Interest Group. I give you – the Royal Society for the Extremely Stupid.’

The fire started on Wednesday (Picture: Natalie Oxford/PA Wire)

Made during his mayoral tenure, Mr Johnson was speaking after seeing a cliff edge with a sign informing people there was a cliff edge.



Many of the health and safety precautions, which are often labelled ‘red tape’, came in after the King’s Cross Fire in 1987. It claimed the lives of 31.

Towns and cities across northern England and Wales to face new restrictions this weekend

Mr Johnson continued: ‘Typically, there will have been an accident, and local campaigners will get together with families of the victims to demand a solution.

‘In these circumstances, it is very difficult for local politicians to resist. On the contrary, the overwhelming temptation will be to “do something”. And though a plausible case can be made for each intervention, the cumulative effect can be counterproductive.’

Residents who survived the Grenfell Tower have complained there was no working sprinklers the complex, that the fire alarms did not work and that fire safety advice was wrong.

Much of the health and safety legislation appeared following the King’s Cross fire (Picture: Natalie Oxford/PA Wire)

Jeremy Corbyn has now demanded that residents are fully involved in any public inquiry that takes place.

Following the tragedy, previous comments about ‘red tape’ and ‘health and safety’ made by Conservatives have been brought to light.

Tory figures congratulated themselves for slashing fire checks for businesses from six hours to just 45 minutes.

Mr Johnson said that he thought Labour were politicising the tragedy yesterday.