Maduro is not a dictator, says Livingstone

Former London mayor calls for Britain to follow Venezuela’s lead and to overhaul the constitution

KEN LIVINGSTONE, a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has insisted Venezuela’s president is “not a dictator”, as he claimed suggestions to the contrary were “propaganda”. The Labour grandee suggested chaos in the South American country was the result of interference from the US, as he urged Britain to adopt constitutional reforms similar to those pushed by Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

Mr Livingstone’s refusal to criticise Mr Maduro placed him at odds with widespread international condemnation faced by the president over his efforts to assume nearly unlimited powers and his apparent detention of opposition figures. More than 125 people have died since April amid violence and protests over Mr Maduro’s leadership.

Pressure continues to mount on Mr Corbyn to condemn Mr Maduro – a man who he has previously expressed support for – with the Labour leader yet to comment on the situation.

The US has imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela while Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, accused Mr Maduro of behaving like the “dictator of an evil regime”.

But Mr Livingstone, who is suspended from Labour over his claims about Adolf Hitler’s links to Zionism, rejected the accusation, telling Talkradio: “It is not a dictatorship.”

Another ally of Mr Corbyn, Chris Williamson, a shadow home office minister, also refused to condemn Mr Maduro as he attacked US sanctions, claiming it “can’t be right” to impose restrictions at a time of “massive crisis”.

Mr Livingstone struck a similarly critical tone when asked whether he believed problems in Venezuela could be blamed on US interference.

He said: “We won’t know until 30 years from now when the American papers are published.”

Mr Livingstone demanded to be given “evidence” of the Venezuelan regime’s alleged wrongdoing, prompting Julia Hartley-brewer, the presenter, to claim she had done just that after citing the arrests of opposition leaders.

But Mr Livingstone replied: “No, you have given me propaganda.”

He also queried why opposition leaders had been arrested as he said: “The simple fact is people are trying to overthrow his government. You have armed people on the streets from the opposition killing people, people are blockading the import of food and medicines. If there is any evidence that Maduro wants to create a one-party state I would immediately oppose that.”

Mr Livingstone also suggested that a decision not to “kill all the oligarchs” who oppose the socialist regime had contributed to the crisis. He said he was “not in favour of killing anyone” but if those people had been killed “they wouldn’t be able to undermine the present government”.

The former Mayor of London claimed the UK should follow Venezuela’s lead and call a constitutional assembly to overhaul the political system.

He said: “I’d like to see us do that here. It is time we had a real look at our constitution because we are the most centralised of all western countries.”

A statement released by Labour on Monday simply set out the party’s commitment to “respect for the rule of law and human rights”.