Johnson was sacked from these high-profile posts in November 2004. He was accused of lying to Michael Howard about a four-year extramarital affair with Petronella Wyatt, "The Spectator"'s New York correspondent and former deputy editor. Johnson said the allegations were not true. He said they were "an inverted pyramid of piffle". However, Howard sacked Johnson because he believed press reports showed Johnson had lied, and not because of the affair itself.