Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has issued a gentle reminder that working from home is not an excuse to be lazy.

The government is busy encouraging people to work from home during the Olympics, advocating the benefits of not having to commute during busy periods. However, Mayor Johnson appears not to have got the memo and has made some slightly blundering statements on the matter.

Speaking at an Olympics transport conference, he remarked: “Some people will see the Games as an opportunity to work from home, in inverted commas. We all know that is basically sitting wondering whether to go down to the fridge to hack off that bit of cheese before checking your emails again. I don’t want to see too many of us doing that.”

He added that people will “have to expect substantial queues and blockages” during the event, but that does not mean that the Games can be a “wonderful, glorified sick-note for the entire working population”.

Contrary to Mr Johnson's statement, the Olympics planning groups are advocating working from home as a viable alternative to facing crowded buses and tubes.