Lord Levy: ‘Ken’s lost it. He has to be kicked out’
The Labour peer has called for his leader to take decisive action in the aftermath of the former London Mayor’s suspension
Patrick Maguire is a reporter at the Jewish News.
Ken Livingstone should be expelled by Labour – but Jeremy Corbyn’s party is “not anti-Semitic”, according to Lord Levy.
The Labour peer has called for his leader to take decisive action in the aftermath of the former London Mayor’s suspension earlier today.
Levy, who last month warned he could quit the party as it struggles to deal with recurrent reports of anti-Semitism among its membership, branded Livingstone “a liability” for whom there was “no place” in the Labour Party.
He told Sky News: “I’m in shock. I feel saddened and frustrated. Ken has lost it. I’ve watched the events unfold thinking, ‘is this real?’ There is no place for Ken him any longer in the Labour Party.
“We cannot tolerate that sort of behaviour from anyone. We have to take a stand.”
Livingstone was suspended for “bringing the party in disrepute” after claiming that Hitler “was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews”.
Jewish Care president Levy, a key ally and fundraiser for former prime minister Tony Blair, said that the hard left veteran’s reference to the Nazi leader was “horrendous”.
Calling for Jeremy Corbyn to unequivocally condemn anti-Semitic behaviour within Labour, the party grandee added: “Corbyn must say these remarks are despicable.
“He needs to be clear that his party is totally against this language and anti-Semitism and make clear his party supports the state of Israel and a two-state solution.
“The Jewish community loved Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. We never saw anti-Semitism in the party then. Labour is not an anti-Semitic party.”
The former Middle East envoy also backed the suspension of controversial Bradford West MP Naz Shah.
He said: “Naz Shah’s comments on transporting the largest Jewish population to America showed complete ignorance and lack of understanding.
“I cannot understand how any MP can speak in that way. Her suspension was the correct outcome.”
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