...why they call Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, "Red Ken."
LONDON (Reuters) - London's outspoken Mayor Ken Livingstone has refused to apologise for calling a Jewish newspaper reporter a war criminal and concentration camp guard, despite complaints from Britain's main Jewish group."Are you a German war criminal?" Livingstone was heard saying on a tape recording of the exchange with the Evening Standard journalist at a event to mark the 20th anniversary of former cabinet member Chris Smith announcing he is gay.
When the journalist said he was Jewish and was offended by the mayor's remarks, Livingstone replied: "Actually you are just like a concentration camp guard."{...}
But wait, there's more...
{...} A statement from the mayor's office blamed the paper for harassing guests and provoking the mayor. His office said the mayor would not comment further.{...}
Catch that one? Livingstone was the one who was harrassed and provoked. Not the reporter who was compared to a concentration camp guard.
Using Livingstone's own standards for acceptable rhetoric, I believe a comeback including the phrases, "Uncle Joe," "Purges" and "Wanker Mayor not having the necessary skills available to survive them," would have been appropriate under the circumstances.
UPDATE: The husband challenged me in the comments. Here is the transcript of the conversation. Further developments can be found here.
Livingstone is a wanker.
Posted by Kathy at February 11, 2005 10:32 AMCareful...you know as well as I do how often people attacking journalists are quoted - by journalists - out of context. Usually in a very creative manner. Who knows exactly what the journalist said/asked that might have provoked such a visceral response. Curiously, the Reuter's report is lacking on those details except that it was heated enough to end with the journalist telling the mayor to 'f*ck off'. There's a professional, unbiased source if I've ever seen one.... ;p
Posted by: MRN aka 'The Husband' at February 11, 2005 03:40 PM