London mayor Boris Johnson has called on Harry Potter fans to lobby for the development of a new theme park dedicated to the fictional wizard in the UK capital.

Writing in a column for the Telegraph newspaper, Johnson said he "deeply and bitterly" disapproved of the Harry Potter theme park due to open in Orlando, Florida, US. The mayor urged young people and "their Potter-fiend parents" to write to Warner Brothers, Universal and author JK Rowling to bring a similar attraction to London.

Johnson wrote: "I want to know why this Kingdom of Potter is not being built in the UK, and I won't be fobbed off with any nonsense about the weather. "They built Eurodisney in the Valley of the Marne, where it is at least as cold and drizzly as it is in London - and it has been a triumphant success."

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is due to open at Universal Studios Orlando on 18 June, comprising a range of rides based on the tales of the fictional wizard. Image: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, US.