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The Greater London Authority had to concentrate on value for money, he said, leaving little doubt that he will slim down the staff he inherits from Livingstone.

He also gave warning that he would have little patience with anyone who begrudged the change of power at City Hall. “If there are any dogs in the manger, I will have those dogs humanely euthanased.”

Repeating his praise for Livingstone’s achievements, Johnson made clear he did not intend to lead a partisan administration after his relatively narrow 53% to 47% victory. “I want to build on the achievements of the last administration and I want us to put aside any personal rancour or ideological disputes.

“Let’s all put them aside and work together and build on the very considerable achievements of the last Mayor of London and make sure we create a London that is greater still.” Mr Johnson does not formally receive the seals of office from Livingstone until midnight tomorrow, and he joked that this would give the outgoing administration time to cover up anything it wanted to keep under wraps.

“Until that time, I imagine there are shredding machines quietly puffing and panting away in various parts of the building, and quite right too.

“Heaven knows what we shall uncover in the course of the next few days.”

True to his bumbling image, Johnson was rarely far from a pratfall during his speech, several times raising laughter from his audience.

He had to ask what the date was before signing the acceptance document, muddled up the name of the architect responsible for City Hall’s distinctive design and momentarily avoided saying he wanted to give voters “more bang for their buck”, before changing his mind and saying it anyway.

After his speech, Johnson went into private talks with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy.

Ron Dobson, the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, was also at the private meeting which discussed the role of Police Community Support Officers in the city and the issue of bus passes for children.

Earlier Johnson was received with a standing ovation as he arrived to sign the declaration of acceptance.

Around 400 supporters turned out to witness the formal signing ceremony at City Hall and see Mr Johnson deliver his first speech as mayor.

As he entered the room they cheered and chanted his name and then applauded him throughout his speech.

Before his arrival at City Hall crowds of supporters - and curious tourists - had gathered outside, some waiting all morning to catch a glimpse of the city’s new mayor.

Chris Jordan, 40, from Vauxhall, south London said she had waited many years to see Mr Johnson become mayor and had stayed up to see the results.

Ms Jordan said: “I’m delighted, I couldn’t be more pleased.” Asked why she thought Mr Johnson would make a good mayor, she said: “He is very charismatic and highly intelligent as well as funny. I think there’s a lot more to Boris than people realise, but they will soon see.”

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