Ken must be expelled from party over Hitler comments – Carwyn
FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones has said Ken Livingstone must be expelled from the Labour Party after a disciplinary hearing suspended him over comments he made about Hitler.
Mr Livingstone was suspended for two years by Labour’s National Constitutional Committee on Tuesday, but allowed to keep his membership – despite critics saying his comments were antisemitic.
He will only be suspended from the party for one more year, as the committee decided to date the punishment to the time of the original comments in April 2016.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said the former London Mayor will face another investigation into the comments.
Last year, Mr Livingstone claimed Hitler had supported Zionism before the Holocaust and insisted he had never heard anyone within Labour be anti-Semitic.
Welsh Labour leader and First Minister Carwyn Jones, said: “Last year when Ken Livingstone first made these deeply offensive remarks causing much distress to those in the Jewish community, and beyond, I called for his expulsion. I stand by those comments today.
“Not only has he failed to apologise for or even acknowledge how divisive, distasteful and insulting his comments were, but he continues to air them openly.
“There is no place for these views in the Labour Party and no place for anyone who espouses them. We have a zero tolerance position on racism so there can be no debate as to what action the party must take. These repeated comments are totally and utterly unacceptable and Ken Livingstone must be expelled from the Labour Party.”
Jeremy Corbyn has said that the former London Mayor will face a new investigation from the party’s ruling body – the National Executive Committee.
Corbyn – who has been a long time ally of Mr Livingstone – said that he was disappointed in his friend’s inability to accept his words were hurtful.
He said: “Ken Livingstone’s comments have been grossly insensitive, and he has caused deep offence and hurt to the Jewish community.
“Labour’s independently elected National Constitutional Committee has found Ken guilty of bringing the party into disrepute and suspended him for two years.
“It is deeply disappointing that, despite his long record of standing up to racism, Ken has failed to acknowledge or apologise for the hurt he has caused. Many people are understandably upset that he has continued to make offensive remarks which could open him to further disciplinary action.
“Since initiating the disciplinary process, I have not interfered with it and respect the independence of the party’s disciplinary bodies. But Ken’s subsequent comments and actions will now be considered by the National Executive Committee after representations from party members.”
The party’s deputy leader Tom Watson said that the failure of the NCC to expel Livingstone “shamed” the party.
He continued: “This was a chance for the Labour Party to show that it would not tolerate wilful and unapologetic baiting of the Jewish community, by shamefully using the Holocaust as a tool with which to inflict the maximum amount of offence.”
A defiant Mr Livingstone vowed to fight the suspension and a second investigation – insisting he had told the historical truth.
He said: “I was asked a question in an interview and I answered it. Since then, other people have used it.
“These people who want to get rid of Jeremy Corbyn keep driving this forward.”
He said the process had been like “sitting through a court in North Korea”.
The decision not to expel Mr Livingstone was also criticised by the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Rabbi Mirvis said: “This was a chance for the Labour Party to show that it would not tolerate wilful and unapologetic baiting of the Jewish community.
“Worryingly, the party has yet again failed to show that it is sufficiently serious about tackling the scourge of antiSemitism.”
He added: “The Labour Party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its members and it has failed all those who believe in zero tolerance of anti-Semitism.”