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.