The Tube party which resulted in a string of arrests for assaults on police and transport workers was “anthropologically misunderstood”, Boris Johnson said today.

The new London Mayor also announced that he was standing down as MP for Henley-on-Thames to concentrate on his job at City Hall.

“I think what we had there was the kind of exuberant, Celtic-style wake for the passing, the long overdue passing, of a custom,” Mr Johnson said of the Circle Line booze-up.

He said that while most people “got into the spirit of things” and were merry but well-behaved, the party was ruined by a few. “Most people who saw the scenes of violence and disorder thought that that entirely vindicated our decision (to ban alcohol on public transport), he said.

Six Tube stations were closed on Saturday night as thousands of people partied on the Circle Line, in the event organised via the social networking site Facebook. They made good use of their last opportunity to consume alcohol on the capital’s public transport system. There were 17 arrests after four Tube drivers, three other members of staff and two police officers were assaulted. Around 50 staff were said to have been verbally abused or spat at.

While Mr Johnson’s new rules came into effect on Sunday, he said that passengers were still welcome to celebrate on the tube. “I have nothing against parties on the Tube, if they are conducted without alcohol,” he told his first press conference as mayor.

With a spate of youth stabbings, he said his No 1 priority was resolving the capital’s crime issues. “Since I became mayor there have been four more knife murders of young people and one more shooting. Sometimes it feels like a bad dream. For the loss of every young life, me and my team become more determined to do everything we can to get knives off the street but also to change the culture and keep young people away from the catastrophic cycle of revenge.”

Mr Johnson announcement that he will stand down as MP will trigger a by-election in the Oxfordshire constituency. He said that it was a “huge wrench” to leave Henley but he needed to focus entirely on his new job.

“I think the qualities needed to be a good MP for Henley are above all to be willing to listen, to be patient, to realise that you have the nicest, kindest, most wonderful and indeed eccentric people in Britain that you are going to have the privilege of representing. But above all, the quality you need to represent the people of Henley is to be a Conservative.”

Mr Johnson promised action on various plans, including his pledge to phase out bendy buses and a promise to negotiate a no-strike deal with transport workers, although he did not give any details.

While his predecessor Ken Livingstone held weekly press conferences, Mr Johnson will face the media once a month. He came under fire from reporters over the lack of access to him. He said that he would be as accessible as possible “without driving you all nuts”. He implored journalists to stop calling his mobile phone because he kept giving accidental interviews “which get me into trouble”.

Mr Johnson also called on the Government to recognise Latin and Ancient Greek as foreign languages on the syllabus. At that point, his microphone cut out. “Must be some anti-Latin gremlin,” he remarked.

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