Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ken Livingstone suspended by Labour as party's antisemistim row intensifies

Suspension follows extraordinary morning for party, during which former Mayor of London is subjected to verbal attack by Labour MP in front of TV cameras

Political Editor

Thursday 28 April 2016 13:23 BST

Ken Livingstone, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s oldest political allies, has been suspended from the Labour Party as the leadership was plunged into a fresh row about antisemitism.

Mr Corbyn was forced to move against Mr Livingstone after his attempt to defend the Labour MP Naz Shah backfired and led to former London mayor himself being accused of racism.

In radio interviews, Mr Livingstone appeared to equate Zionists with Adolf Hitler, saying: “Let’s remember, when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews."

Mr Corbyn had little choice but to act after senior figures in the party – including Labour’s Mayor of London candidate Sadiq Khan - called for the former Mayor of London to be kicked out.

A spokesperson for the party said: "Ken Livingstone has been suspended by the Labour Party, pending an investigation, for bringing the party into disrepute.

"The Chief Whip has summoned John Mann MP to discuss his conduct."

John Mann MP call Ken Livingstone MP a 'Nazi apologist'

Mr Khan had said Mr Livingstone’s comments were “appalling and inexcusable”, later adding: "He's got to be kicked out. These are so serious, these comments, so deeply offensive."

Mr Livingstone was also involved in an angry dispute with another Labour MP, John Mann, which was captured by television cameras.

Mr Mann is heard accusing Mr Livingstone of being a “disgusting racist rewriting history", before Mr Livingstone is heard telling Mr Mann to “check your history”.

The row is deeply damaging to Mr Corbyn who has been attempting to build bridges with the Jewish community following a string of allegedly antisemitic comments and remarks made by his supporters on the left of the party.

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

Show all 14

1/14Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Israel and Palestine

The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and there’s one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but it’s like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Antisemitism in the Labour Party

As I’ve said, I’ve never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but there’s been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Naz Shah

It’s completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I don’t think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I don’t believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they won’t find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. We’ve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members we’ve found who are antisemitic, she’ll be expelled

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On other alleged antisemites in Labour

That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an ‘international Jewish conspiracy’ – that is the reason we need to have an investigation. I’ve got an open mind. I’ve seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldn’t have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah

That’s a statement of fact – Hitler, I’m sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that … it’s history … literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. She’s not saying it’s legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On another alleged antisemite in Labour

No, that is, and that’s why she’s been suspended or expelled. What I’ve said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings I’ve been in I’ve never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people you’ll have a handful of antisemites, you’ll have a handful of racists. You’ve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. I’ve never met any of these people. There’s not a problem. You’re talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the allegations

He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. There’s been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet … many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London

This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regent’s Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I can’t equate what I heard him say… he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I don’t investigate people. I’ve simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On John Mann’s comments

He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that I’m a racist antisemite in my ear. I’ve had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. I’m not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What I’m saying is don’t confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On calling a Jewish journalist a “concentration camp guard” whilst Mayor of London

I can’t tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying ‘I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic’. We won the case

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On claims about Hitler and Zionism

I can’t tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying ‘I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic’. We won the case

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On John Mann

I’d simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, you’ve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On raising the issue if Hitler

It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. I’ve always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is we’ve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, they’ve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said

On people calling for him to be suspended

All my usual critics – but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. I’ve always opposed every form of racism whether it’s against black people or Jews. I’m going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life

Mr Corbyn’s aides had attempted to draw a line under the affair by suspending the Bradford West MP Ms Shah on Wednesday pending an internal investigation.

But Mr Livingstone chose to accept a series of media interviews this morning where he defended Ms Shah – and made a series of statements which a number of Labour MPs said were themselves antisemitic.

Even Mr Livingstone’s allies deserted him, with the chairman of the Momentum group of Corbyn supporters, Jon Lansman, saying that “a period of silence from Ken Livingstone is overdue, especially on antisemitism, racism and Zionism.”

Livingstone stands by comments

He added: “Ken Livingstone achieved many good things for London and beyond. But all political lives end in failure and he should now depart voluntarily.”

Other Labour figures echoed the call for Mr Livingstone to be suspended.

Labour frontbencher Chi Onwurah said: "Ken's comments are unacceptable and there cannot be one rule for him and another for everyone else.

"Antisemitism is wrong, full stop, end of story. Naz Shah recognised that in her fulsome apology; Ken has actually made things worse by trying to justify comments she accepted had no justification."

Labour MP David Lammy added: "This is a very sad day for the Labour Party. I simply cannot reconcile being in the same party as someone with these views.

"I am appalled by Ken Livingstone's despicable comments. There is no place in our party for racism, bigotry or intolerance of any sort."

Before he was suspended, Mr Livingstone said he believed the row over his future would "calm down" over the next couple of days.

Asked if he was under pressure, he told BBC Two's Daily Politics: "Not really. I simply said what I believed to be true, which is that Naz is not antisemitic."

Pressed about his future on Labour's ruling NEC, he said: "Things erupt. They dominate the news for 24/48 hours. People calm down again when they go back and check what you have really said."

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg told Mr Livingstone his actions were "weird".

He said: "I never ever thought I would see the day that mainstream, well-known politicians like you would start raking over Hitler's views in a way that people would simply not understand."

Former Labour peer Lord Sugar, who quit the party after last year's election, said Mr Livingstone "shouldn't be allowed to be anywhere near the Labour Party at all".

Lord Sugar told Sky News: "Corbyn has got nowhere to go on this now. He is one of his close allies within the party, from their political beliefs, but he has got to get rid of this man in the same way Naz Shah was suspended yesterday."

The businessman and TV host said that "the lunatics have taken over the party", adding: "There is an underlying feeling now under (Corbyn's) regime that anti-Semitism is starting to rise in the Labour Party, although he denies it."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies