Jump to full article: The Guardian (uk), 2008-04-17
Intro: Boris Johnson has said he wants Londoners to have a say on whether the ban on smoking in public places should remain in place.
During a webchat on the Sun's website, the Conservative mayoral candidate was asked about his views on the current ban, and said that local authorities ought to decide their own smoking policy and that Londoners should have a referendum on giving boroughs the power to opt out.
His posting says: "What is the point of having local democracy if we don't leave decisions like this to a local level? If I had my way, we would have an online referendum in London about whether to give boroughs back the power to give discretion over smoking to pubs and clubs."
His comments were viewed by rivals as signalling an intention to try to overturn the smoking ban - and were quickly condemned.
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