Mayor is suspended over Nazi jibe

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By: BBC on: 24.02.2006 [14:54 ]

Mr Livingstone said he was expressing his honestly-held view
London's mayor has been suspended from office for four weeks for comparing a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.
The Adjudication Panel for England ruled Ken Livingstone had brought his office into disrepute when he acted in an "unnecessarily insensitive" manner.

The ban is due to begin on 1 March and the mayor's deputy Nicky Gavron will stand in for Mr Livingstone.

The mayor said: "This decision strikes at the heart of democracy."

He added: "Elected politicians should only be able to be removed by the voters or for breaking the law.

The case tribunal is concerned that the mayor does seem to have failed... to have appreciated that his conduct was unacceptable

David Laverick
Panel chairman
"Three members of a body that no one has ever elected should not be allowed to overturn the votes of millions of Londoners."

Mr Livingstone said he would announce what action he would be taking next week.

The hearing followed a complaint from the Jewish Board of Deputies, which had not called for the mayor to be suspended over the comment he made to the Evening Standard's Oliver Finegold outside a party.

The chairman of the panel, David Laverick, said it had decided on a ban because Mr Livingstone had failed to realise the seriousness of his outburst.

He said: "The case tribunal accepts that this is not a situation when it would be appropriate to disqualify the mayor.

"The case tribunal is, however, concerned that the mayor does seem to have failed, from the outset of this case, to have appreciated that his conduct was unacceptable, was a breach of the code (the GLA code of conduct) and did damage to the reputation of his office."

Mr Laverick went on to say that the complaint should never have reached the board but did so because of Mr Livingstone's failure to apologise.

But Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron said the incident had been "blown out of all proportion" and described the decision as absurd.

Londoners 'let down'

She went on: "An elected Mayor should only be removed by the law or by the electorate. Not by an unelected body."

Mr Livingstone has said he was expressing his honestly-held political view of Associated Newspapers, but he had not meant to offend the Jewish community.

HAVE YOUR SAY
I'm certainly no fan of Ken Livingstone but this is a stupid waste of time and money

Tio Terry, Epsom


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The Evening Standard's editor Veronica Wadley said that Mr Finegold had behaved impeccably when he was insulted and accused Mr Livingstone of being stubborn.

The London Jewish Forum welcomed the ruling, with chairman Adrian Cohen calling for the mayor to create a strategy which would ensure London's Jews would be treated with respect.

Conservative London Assembly Member Brian Coleman said Mr Livingstone had let Londoners down.

All three called for the mayor to apologise.

Baroness Hamwee, Liberal Democrat chair of the assembly, said she was "quite taken aback" by the length of the suspension.

If an appeal fails, Mr Livingstone will be responsible for paying his own legal costs, estimated at £80,000.

It is not clear how his duties would be covered.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4746016.stm

"There are two laws now. One for Jews and one for non-Jews. Non-Jews have no rights......free speech my ass"

 

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