At Building, Michael Willoughby:

Mayor Boris Johnson attacked his workplace, the 2002 Greater London Authority (GLA) building, as one of the worst in London shortly before handing its developer a planning award.

Love it. Now read on.

Simon Jenkins in the Standard:

Boris Johnson swore that he would rescind Livingstone's towers. He told all comers that he would "stop the madness". Yet no sooner was he in "the testicle" than he craved a phallus. The developer lobbyists got to him and undermined his self-confidence.

The Mayor, of course, doesn't see it quite that way. Whatever, Jenkins might reflect that several boroughs have lobbied for towers too and that he, like Boris, spoke during the election campaign in favour of boroughs being free from bossy mayors. You can't have it both ways.

An Evening Standard leader:

Boris Johnson's policy of restricting approval for tall buildings in London to limited areas was once a fundamental element of his approach to planning. But his approval for tall buildings in Wandsworth and Ealing, areas without existing clusters of blocks, suggests an approach more like the ad-hoc policy of his predecessor, Ken Livingstone, who took a notoriously lax attitude to skyscrapers. Now Mr Johnson has a chance to show whether his planning policy for our skyline has rigour or consistency.

A new proposal for The Spires, three enormous tower blocks right by City Hall, is being submitted for approval. It would be hard to justify. The tallest of the three would reportedly offer views of the English Channel; together they would interfere with the Mayor's own views. In a downturn, there is little economic rationale for projects like this; aesthetically, there is even less. Mr Johnson should say no.

Wow, Veronica really has left the building hasn't she? No wonder Boris is putting on a Russian festival, of which he says:

Russian Londoners are a thriving community who have made a significant contribution to the capital both economically and culturally. I encourage everyone to come and enjoy this fantastic festival offering.

Are you listening, Alexander?

More on The Spires and other Irvine Sellar proposals for central London here.

Well, what do you know? Regen Daily reports:

Boris Johnson has agreed to back Rafael Vinoly's design for a 38-storey tower, subject to a series of minor revisions. Dubbed the Walkie Talkie, the Land Securities development is planned for 20 Fenchurch Street in the City of London.

With some of Boris's other green lights to tall buildings, you can see how he might deny breaking his pledge to restrict their proliferation (I'd link to the relevant bit of his manifesto, but still no-one has revived his campaign site. Come on, Alex or whoever in Team Boris is suppose to be on the case. This is a democracy, you know).

Most have been out of the centre of town, and blocking the Doon Street tower would have meant a lot of grief. But the Walkie-Talkie was mocked by the very traditionalists whose tastes he aligned himself with. I don't get this one at all. Will seek clarification.

Update, 12.46: I didn't need to seek clarification. It arrived all by itself, in the form of a phone call from one of the mayor's press officers. The thing is, he explained, Boris was in no position to stop the Walkie-Talkie being built because the basic plan had already been given the go-ahead under Ken Livingstone. All Boris has given his blessing to are some small changes that the developers wanted to make and, in any case, the building would not have been at odds with his definition of an appropriate location for a new tall building.

So there we have it. I am grateful and I have a great deal to learn. That said, if Boris still wants to be seen as a maoyr who stops tall buildings appearing all over the place, he must be wishing a few more people would come up with ideas for them that a) he doesn't approve of, and b) he's in a position to say no to. Just a thought.

Update, 16.24: And there's another angle.