Mayor’s Atkins taunt upsets widow

THE mayor of New York has become embroiled in a row with the widow of Dr Robert Atkins after calling the late diet pioneer “fat”.

Michael Bloomberg also suggested that Dr Atkins died from weight-related problems, and not by slipping on an icy New York footpath last year.

The off-the-cuff remarks, made by Mr Bloomberg privately during a lunch with firefighters, have left Dr Atkins's widow Veronica "extremely upset and hurt", her spokesman said.

Mr Bloomberg was heard to say: "Atkins is dead. I don't believe that bullshit that (Atkins) dropped dead slipping on the sidewalk. Yeah, right."

When a firefighter asked Mr Bloomberg what Dr Atkins looked like when the pair met, the mayor replied: "The guy was fat big guy but heavy."

He said the food Dr Atkins served was "inedible".

"I took one appetiser and I had to spit it into my napkin. It was just terrible," he said.

The Mayor's off-guard comments left Mrs Atkins dismayed.

"She is confused," said a spokesman. She doesn't understand why the mayor would do this."

She was particularly hurt because Mr Bloomberg sent her a condolence letter after Dr Atkins's death last April.

Dr Atkins died of head injuries shortly after the fall. Mr Bloomberg wrote that Dr Atkins had "touched the lives of so many and his legacy of service is an inspiration to us all".

The mayor's office declined to comment.