Henley MP Boris Johnson will keep his job in the Shadow Cabinet despite claims that he is having another affair.

In 2004, the Conservative MP was sacked from his role as shadow culture secretary for misleading the then leader Michael Howard over his affair with columnist Petronella Wyatt.

Yesterday, the News of the World alleged the married 41-year-old Tory higher education shadow minister was having a fling with 29-year-old journalist Anna Faz- ackerley.

The newspaper photographed him emerging from her London flat on a number of occasions earlier this month.

But a spokesman for Conservative leader and Witney MP David Cameron suggested that Mr Johnson's latest indiscretion would not lead to him losing his frontbench role.

George Eustace said: "David is not going to comment, but this is being treated as a personal matter, and Boris will continue in the role. It's very different from what happened last time, when it was claimed that he lied. This should not affect his job."

Yesterday the Oxford Mail tried to contact Mr Johnson, but he was unavailable for comment as he is away for a week in China. He told the News of the World he would be making "no comment whatsoever". Miss Fazackerley has also declined to comment.

It is understood that Mr Johnson and Miss Fazackerley met when she interviewed him for The Times Higher Educational Supplement.

She concluded her article by writing: "It is clear that those expecting controversy will not have long to wait.

"Mr Johnson has arrived. Let the show begin."

The father-of-four has two sons and two daughters and lives with his wife Marina, 41, a divorce lawyer, in north London.

The Henley MP resigned as editor of The Spectator when David Cameron offered him a return to frontbench politics.

Two years ago, he embarrassed the Tories with an article carried in the magazine which claimed people in Liverpool were always feeling sorry for themselves.

Michael Howard ordered him to make a trip to Merseyside to build bridges with Liverpudlian voters after he faced calls for the sack from his frontbench position.

He was finally sacked by Michael Howard over his affair with fellow Spectator writer Petronella Wyatt.