David Cameron turned the tables on Boris Johnson with a speech mocking the Mayor's private life.
The Prime Minister created gales of laughter at the Spectator Awards dinner, remarking on the amount of sex "going on" at the magazine, where Mr Johnson was formerly editor.
On another ex-Spectator editor, whose political career was blighted by falling out with a Tory premier, he commented: "Shit happens."
Mr Cameron's barbed wit amused but surprised guests at last night's dinner to mark 25 years of the awards.
Most interpreted it as revenge for Mr Johnson's speech at last year's event, mocking the premier's expenses claim for trimming wisteria on his house.
Mr Cameron revealed his favourite Spectator editor was a man who, like him, went to Eton and Oxford: "A man of inestimable charm and an enviable head of hair, always bursting with brilliant turns of phrase." He was speaking of Ian Gilmour, who became leading "wet" in Margaret Thatcher's first Cabinet.
"What went wrong for Ian?" Mr Cameron said, in a passage that appeared to carry a warning for the Mayor. "I suppose he rubbed the Prime Minister up the wrong way and never really recovered. Shit happens."
The Premier praised the Spectator for writing seriously about issues such as sex: "After all, there's been enough of that going on in your office." Mr Johnson was sacked from the Tory frontbench by Michael Howard in 2004 for lying about an affair with his ex-deputy editor Petronella Wyatt.
Mr Cameron won speech of the year for his response to the Bloody Sunday report, and his offer to Nick Clegg of a power-sharing deal.
Ed Miliband won campaign of the year, and Mr Clegg was politician of the year.
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