Andrew Boff, who has made it to the final round of the Tory London mayoral race with Steven Norris, is little known outside the party.

His main claim to fame appears to be the fact he is the nephew of Roy "Little Legs" Smith, who worked for notorious London gangsters the Kray brothers.

But now his success in London shows how - despite having never been a Member of Parliament - the low-profile councillor has made an impression on the Conservative contest in the capital.

He came third to Lord Archer and Mr Norris in the party's first selection process.

And following Lord Archer's withdrawal from the contest, be decided to put his name forward again as the Tories searched for a new candidate.

Mr Boff, 41, who is openly gay, has centred his career on local government. He was elected as a councillor in 1982 and rose to lead Hillingdon Conservatives between 1990 and 1992.

He also stood for the Tories as European election candidate for London 1994 and 1999.

Tough opposition

Mr Boff currently works as an IT consultant for GT Interactive, providing services to the computer games industry.

His breakthrough in making it down to the final two in the contest shows promise for his future.

Despite being unlikely to beat his high-profile and polished opponent, it could lay the foundation stone of a long-lasting political career.

His key promise to the capital's residents is to "Get London moving again" by making public transport more attractive and reducing season ticket costs on London Transport.

He says he would delay privatisation of the Underground network until considerable improvements had been made.