Why has Ken Livingstone been suspended from Labour?
Former London mayor unable to hold office for another year over Hitler comments
Ken Livingstone has been suspended from the Labour Party and is unable to hold office for another year following his controversial comments about Adolf Hitler and Zionism.
But what provoked this punishment and what is the reaction to it?
What did he say?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The row began last year, when the former London mayor defended MP Naz Shah against accusations she had sent anti-Semitic messages on social media.
It emerged last April that in August 2014, Shah shared a Facebook post supporting political scientist Norman Finkelstein's proposal to relocate Israel to the US. The MP also commented that she would send the idea to Barack Obama and David Cameron as it might "save them some pocket money".
In a BBC interview about the row that followed the reporting of these comments, Livingstone said Shah had been "rude and over-the-top", but added there was a "well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as anti-Semitic".
He continued: "When Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews."
What is Zionism?
Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, which is now Israel.
Livingstone's comments suggested that at some stage Hitler held positive views towards Jews, a view Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, from Maidenhead Synagogue, says is a "deliberate falsification of history".
He adds: "Saying Hitler is a Zionist is… akin to describing the Yorkshire Ripper as a nice family man."
What was the reaction?
Almost immediately after Livingstone's comments, Labour MP John Mann, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group against anti-Semitism, was filmed confronting him on the stairs at the BBC's offices in Millbank, calling him a "f****** disgrace" and a "Nazi apologist".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "We will not tolerate any anti-Semitism in the party," while Sadiq Khan, then running for London mayor, called for Livingstone to be kicked out of the party.
Livingstone was suspended on 28 April 2016, pending an investigation.
Labour itself was subsequently the subject of large-scale scrutiny by the media, with The Guardian declaring that "Labour and the left have an anti-Semitism problem".
What happened next?
After a three-day hearing, a disciplinary panel this week found Livingstone to have breached party rules on three occasions relating to the row and he was formally suspended for a year.
"I expected them to expel me, so I've now got to consider whether I challenge this legally or just live with it," he said, adding that the experience was like "sitting through a court in North Korea".
He also claimed once again that he was being disciplined "for stating a historical truth" and that he would launch a campaign to overturn the suspension, says the BBC.
What is the reaction to the new ruling?
Labour's decision to only suspend Livingstone instead of expelling him has drawn the ire of many in the political sphere.
"I'm very upset with the party's attitude, I do not believe there has been a zero tolerance policy towards anti-Semitism," Jewish Labour peer Lord Levy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He added that Corbyn was "a failed leader who is not leading our party forward as a serious opposition party".
Former leadership candidate David Miliband described the situation as "an unspeakable state of affairs", adding: "There should never be a day when those words anti-Semitism and Labour end up in the same sentence."
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis also criticised the decision. Labour had "yet again failed to show" that it was "sufficiently serious about tackling the scourge of anti-Semitism", he said.
"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."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'The disconnect between actual health care and the insurance model is widening'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Talking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitions
The Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Labour's plan for change: is Keir Starmer pulling a Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question New 'Plan for Change' calls to mind former PM's much maligned 'five priorities'
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Labour risking the 'special relationship'?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer forced to deny Donald Trump's formal complaint that Labour staffers are 'interfering' to help Harris campaign
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Men in Gray suits: why the plots against Starmer's top adviser?
Today's Big Question Increasingly damaging leaks about Sue Gray reflect 'bitter acrimony' over her role and power struggle in new government
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published