This man will make you thankful for Boris Johnson

New York mayor Bill de Blasio has been criticised for arriving late to a memorial service for the victims of American Airlines Flight 587, the 2001 aviation tragedy in which 265 people died.

He had been scheduled to give a speech at 9:05 on 12 November, the moment the plane crashed thirteen years ago. However he arrived just after 9:20am, reportedly blaming his tardiness on a "very rough night".

In a news conference later that day, de Blasio said: "I was not feeling well this morning; I had a very rough night, I woke up sluggish, and I should have gotten myself moving quicker.”

Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from John F Kennedy International Airport to Santo Domingo's Las Americas International Airport in the Dominican Republic. It crashed shortly after take-off.

Robustiano Reyes, 56, whose brother lost his life in the tragedy, said De Blasio had shown “disrespect” and criticised him for not apologising at the memorial itself.

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Additional reporting: Independent journalists