Conservative response to Ken Livingstone’s comments on LBC

Responding, James Cleverly MP, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, said:

"Ken Livingstone has really let the cat out of the bag now. Not only has he repeated his view that Hitler supported Zionism but he's admitted that Jeremy Corbyn and him have never disagreed on anything and share all the same views. 

"No wonder Corbyn is breaking his promise to deal with racist antisemitism in his party and refused to ask Ken to quit the Labour Party.

"The Jewish community are right to say enough is enough but while Corbyn is in charge of the Labour Party it seems likely that Labour will remain a safe space for antisemitism."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Nick Ferrari: Well I wonder if I can read to you from an appearance you had in front of the National Constitutional Committee actually over two years ago, and I quote, 'the phone would go all the time and I would talk to either Seumas Milne, his press officer or Simon Fletcher about, ''what do you want me to say?'' Sometimes they would phone and tell me what they wanted me to say or they’d say, ''We put out a tweet in your name'' and things like that, so I was just, I think I was just seen as a defender of Jeremy.' Why did you allow them to control your twitter account?

Ken Livingstone: Because, I mean, I guess I'm not terribly interested in the twitter account stuff. I mean I don't spend -

Nick Ferrari: But you put your name to it, so they are not your views then -

Ken Livingstone: No they are.

Nick Ferrari: ...they are the views that Seumas Milne decides you should have?

Ken Livingstone: When Simon, when he was still working for Jeremy, or Seumas phoned me to say, 'look we're pushing this issue, can you take it up?' Of course I would do that. I’ve known Jeremy for 45 years. I mean, I can’t ever recall at time when me and Jeremy disagreed about any policy. We have come from exactly the same place -

Nick Ferrari: Including your views on Hitler and Zionism. Does Mr. Corbyn share your view on that?

Ken Livingstone: You would have to do an interview with him. But why don’t you just - why can’t you just phone the Holocaust Memorial website in Jerusalem and get them to talk about it.

(LBC, 22 May 2018)