Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, has had his knuckles rapped by the UK Statistics Authority for releasing statistics on crime on the London Transport network ahead of their normal release date.
 
Worse things have happened to Boris, so I doubt he’s losing any sleep. In fact, the statistics are not classed as official statistics, so technically he did nothing wrong. He must wish sometimes this were true of all his misdemeanours.
 
Sir Michael Scholar writes that, regardless of the letter of the law, statistics of such importance should, surely, “be treated with the same care and propriety as if now required by law for the most important official statistics”. To emphasise the point, he has also written to Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, and Teresa May, Home Secretary, urging them to reclassify Boris’s figures so he’s got no excuse next time.  
 
So it was a sin against the spirit of the legislation, not the letter. UKSA is right to have upbraided him, and Full Fact to have identified the breach that technically wasn’t. I’m sure the Mayor (pictured yawning, but on a quite different occasion) will comply in future.