Wednesday’s splash for the Evening Standard and, right, Two Cities MP Nickie Aiken complained in her capacity as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party

TWO CITIES MP Nickie Aiken risked going to war with the Evening Standard after the newspaper introduced the Tories’ new mayoral candidate with a giant photo of her looking dotty.

London Assembly member Susan Hall – who has in the past tweeted support for Donald Trump’s run for the US presidency and criticised footballers for “taking the knee” – has emerged as the chosen ­challenger to Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.

But the Conservatives are furious that they gave the Standard first dibs on the announcement only to find the embarrassing photo – Ms Hall is waving her arms at an airfield – selected for their splash.

Many commuters may have not have known who she was until they picked up a copy on the way home on Wednesday. Within hours, Ms Aiken had complained to the newspaper in her role as the ­party’s deputy chairman and said that it was unlikely to get the same “overtures” – seen by some as a code for exclusive access – in the future.

She claimed the paper always chose more ­serious-looking photos for male politicians and that it should be marking a historic moment for London, as Ms Hall – a former leader of Harrow Council – is the first female candidate to be selected for the mayoral contest by one of the two main parties.

While newspaper endorsements are now seen as a little old hat in the political world, the Tories have traditionally enjoyed support from the city-wide newspaper.

This was perhaps most clearly illustrated by the appointment of George Osborne, the former Conservative MP and chancellor in David Cameron’s government, as editor without any obvious experience in journalism. Former health secretary Matt Hancock’s leaked pandemic WhatsApp messages revealed he had asked Mr Osborne for a favourable front page during the height of the Covid crisis.

Dylan Jones took over in the editor’s chair earlier this year from Emily Sheffield.

Ms Aiken said in her letter of complaint that the picture was “clear mockery”, adding: “I know full well that your photographer was granted special permission to attend this event, alongside the PA [Press Association] pool photographer. This was a goodwill gesture to your paper in order to help you meet your print deadline.

“… I cannot imagine that CCHQ will be willing to provide such overtures to your paper in the future, which is disappointing as they were hoping to have a good working relationship with you over the course of the long mayoral campaign.”

The letter also said that women faced extra hurdles and barriers to succeed in politics, adding: “I note that other front pages of your paper featuring political figures such as Sir Keir Starmer or Sadiq Khan were much more serious in their tone. Why was such a different approach taken when a woman was featured?”

Privately, some Tory members were dismayed at the final choice on the ballot cards when selecting a candidate – and fear the party is blowing a chance to stop Mr Khan from winning a third term under new first-past-the-post voting rules which would prevent him winning a close contest on second preferences.

In a comment piece for the same edition of the Standard, the LBC presenter Iain Dale, a supporter of the party, said he had been asked to stand in its “vain” search for a high-profile candidate. The final three contenders became two when Daniel Korski stepped down after being accused by TV producer Daisy Goodwin of groping her while he was a special adviser at Downing Street – a claim he has denied.

Ms Hall then went on to beat the only other candidate, barrister Moz Hussain.

She told the Standard: “Some newspaper editors think we have given up. But let me tell you this: I will never give up on London.”