Livingstone brands Saudi royals 'a disgrace'
London mayor Ken Livingstone today stood by his attack on the Saudi royal family, insisting most voters in the English capital agreed they were a “disgrace”.
Opponents challenging him for the post at the June 10 elections seized on his suggestion that he wanted to see them swing from lamp-posts.
But Mr Livingstone said today: “Perhaps I’m mayor in the first place because I’m not some little toady who just comes out with the party line.
“I would have thought the vast majority of people out there think the Saudi royal family has been a disgrace and it is silly to pretend otherwise.”
Mr Livingstone also repeated his condemnation of US President George Bush.
His call for Mr Bush to be tried for war crimes has brought charges that he is damaging London’s interests.
But unrepentant Mr Livingstone told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What I want is the people of America to get rid of him.
“They didn’t vote for him last time and I do think we will be in a position where a lot of the tensions we have got will diffuse and there will be a chance for perhaps tackling some of the serious problems, like the Palestinian issue, if we get a new American government.
“If Bush is re-elected, the impact – forget foreign policy issues – the impact on the environment is devastating.”
Mr Livingstone is adamant that by rejoining the Labour Party and becoming its candidate for mayor, he has not signed up to all of Tony Blair’s policies.
“The Labour Party is not ‘proprietor T Blair’. It is an organisation that has been around for 100 years,” he said.
“The (British) government has its policies. This is the devolved government of London and we have ours.
“Now there is a big overlap. We are broadly in agreement about extra police and more expenditure on transport, about trying to expand pre-school childcare.
“But I’m not asked to endorse national government policies and they don’t have to sign up to any of mine. This is what devolution is about.”
