By Ben Kerrigan-
Ken Livingstone has vowed to resolve the comments he made in relation to Hitler before he dies.
The former London mayor, suspended for the past two years, described the allegations against him as a “big smear” , as he expressed his readiness to go to court if there was any move to exclude him permanently for anti-Semitism.
“I am not going to my grave without this issue being resolved,” he told Sky News.Campaigners have called for Mr Livingstone’s removal from the party as a sign that party leader Jeremy Corbyn is serious about tackling anti-Semitism in Labour’s ranks.The controversy has been blamed for the party’s poor showing in the local elections in strongly Jewish areas such as Barnet in north London, where Conservatives snatched control of the council. Livingstone admitted the allegation that he called Hitler a Zionist is likely to have cost Labour the chance to snatch control of a key London council.
Mr Livingstone’s original comments had made reference to an agreement in the 1930s between the Nazis and some German Zionists to re-settle German Jews in Palestine.
He told Sky: “Hitler wanted to get all of the Jews out of Germany and the Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine so they collaborated. They didn’t like each other but they collaborated to do that.”
Mr Livingstone acknowledged the damage caused by the whole controversy over anti-Semitism, which led to a protest outside the Houses of Parliament and complaints by Jewish MPs over the abuse they had received, had been “damaging” to Labour in the run-up to the local elections.
“It is a distraction. During this last month we have had endless stories about Labour and anti-Semitism – not getting across to people what we want to do in local government,” he said.
Livingstone was originally suspended in 2016 following a radio interview in which he said: “Hitler was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.”
He later argued that he had not actually said Hitler was a Zionist.
“There is a lot of Jewish people, not just in Barnet but all over the place, that believe I said Hitler was a Zionist. That was the big smear on the day I was suspended. Two years on it is still being repeated,” he said.
He added: “When we had the hearing a year ago, I said ‘If you expel me I will go to court. You haven’t got a chance of winning.’
“How can you expel someone for stating a historical fact but take no action against MPs who lied about what you’d said, and claimed I’d said Hitler was a Zionist?
“I am optimistic. I believe that the truth should prevail.”
SUSPENDED
Livingstone was originally suspended in 2016 following a radio interview in which he said: “Hitler was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.”
However, he argued that he had not actually said Hitler was a Zionist.
“There is a lot of Jewish people, not just in Barnet but all over the place, that believe I said Hitler was a Zionist. That was the big smear on the day I was suspended. Two years on it is still being repeated,” he said.
He added: “When we had the hearing a year ago, I said ‘If you expel me I will go to court. You haven’t got a chance of winning.’
“How can you expel someone for stating a historical fact but take no action against MPs who lied about what you’d said, and claimed I’d said Hitler was a Zionist?
“I am optimistic. I believe that the truth should prevail.”
His latest intervention drew an angry response from some Labour MPs.
Tulip Siddiq tweeted: “Please please get this irrelevant man off my TV screen.”
Adam Langleben, a Labour councillor who lost his seat in Barnet, tweeted: “Why the hell is Ken Livingstone on @SkyNews trying to explain the Barnet result???? Chuck him out.”
