Boris IS the new Disraeli... probably: Mayor adds weight to comparison by saying Victorian PM's personal failings took nothing away from his 'phenomenal' achievements Boris defends Disraeli in book review for Mail on Sunday's Event magazine It is the provocative question posed by a Tory grandee which has delighted political gossips: is Boris Johnson the modern Disraeli? The Victorian Prime Minister was a bed-hopping chancer who deployed his flamboyant wit to charm his way out of trouble and exert a hypnotic hold over the Tories. Now London Mayor Mr Johnson has fuelled the debate - by ruggedly defending the flawed leader. Cut from the same cloth: London Mayor Boris Johnson, right, and the flamboyant 19th Century leader Disraeli His remarks come in a review of the book that first drew the comparison between him and Disraeli. In his article Mr Johnson brushes aside the statesman's personal failings, insisting they do nothing to diminish his "phenomenal" achievements. The book - a biography of Disraeli by former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd - argues that, like Boris, Disraeli's greatness derived more from character than achievement. Mr Johnson's rollicking and knowing review, for today's Event magazine, prompted Lord Hurd to claim vindication last night. Mr Johnson writes in his article: "Disraeli is one of the greatest Prime Ministers this country has ever had," before recounting with relish the book's warts-and-all portrayal of the PM. He was an unprincipled adventurer of dubious sexual tastes... He embezzled money from the husband of his mistress, engaged in at least one ménage-a-trois, had a thing for one smooth-looking young man and seduced a series of older women, persuading one to give him huge sums of money by writing the bemused old trout a stream of oily letters. But the Mayor insists that the critique of Disraeli's behaviour in Lord Hurd's "superb and hilarious" book "fails to make any kind of dent in his greatness." "His achievements were not slight, as the authors claim; they were phenomenal," says Mr Johnson, arguing that a politician's character flaws should not be allowed to influence the verdict of posterity. He was the son of an antiquarian bookseller who overcame entrenched anti-Semitism not by concealing his origins - but by foppishly and flamboyantly playing them up. Lord Hurd said that Boris's robust defence of Disraeli proves he was right all along In the most telling section of his review, Mr Johnson says: "If he had a flaw it was that he was too amused. To the very end, he made jokes. Asked as he lay dying whether he wanted the Queen to come and see him, he drawled that she would only want him to send a message to Albert. He concludes: "I don't know if it was the exact intention of the authors, but I ended the book reverencing Disraeli even more than when I began it." In the book Disraeli: Or The Two Lives, which Lord Hurd co-wrote with Edward Young, the peer observes: "According to accepted wisdom on modern politics, Boris Johnson should have been ruined years ago... And yet his reputation has soared. Last night Lord Hurd said that Boris's robust defence of Disraeli proves he had been right all along. "I am delighted that Boris enjoyed our book, but I notice that he doesn't actually contest a key point, namely that Disraeli was a brilliant, witty and remarkable politician driven by an overactive imagination and an overpowering love of fame," said Lord Hurd. When we started the book, I thought Boris was a bit like Disraeli. Having learned about his review, I am convinced that they are indeed cut from the same cloth.