December 13, 2005
London’s mayor Ken Livingstone has been partially cleared of charges against him for likening a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard. A disciplinary panel cleared Livingstone on Tuesday of a misconduct charge made after the incident, which took place earlier this year. The panel hearing the case ruled that Livingstone did not make the comments in an official capacity because he said them after leaving a reception. But Livingstone still faces a second charge for misconduct (harming his post as mayor). If found guilty, he could be removed from office.
The case relates to a confrontation between Livingstone and the reporter Oliver Finegold outside a party. The mayor accused Finegold of pursuing him, and on tape he was heard asking the reporter if he was a "German war criminal". When Finegold replied: "No, I'm Jewish, I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that", the Livingstone said: "Ah right, well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?" He later refused to apologize to the reporter, saying he was the victim of a 24-year-old hate campaign run by the publishers of Finegold's newspaper.
