Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone has been condemned after attacking the Saudi Royal family. The London Evening Standard reports the Mayor as saying:
“I just long for the day I wake up and find that the Saudi royal family are swinging from lamp-posts and they’ve got a proper government that represents the people of Saudi Arabia.”
Tory Mayoral candidates Steve Norris called the comments a “dangerous rant” and claimed they “could have very serious consequences for our country”.
LibDem contender Simon Hughes said the comments were “deeply unhelpful, offensive and inappropriate”.
Frank Maloney, the UKIP candidate blasted Livingstone saying:
“He has no idea about what is sensible, I am not a career politician like him but I am not stupid enough to say things that will damage political relations or my city.”
The BBC reports that Downing Street declined to comment on the claims and instead referred all enquiries to the Mayor’s own office who defended the comments, saying:
“For the whole of his political career Ken Livingstone has been a forthright politician who speaks his mind and Londoners have not so far found this a problem – on the contrary, most people prefer to have someone in office who doesn’t always toe the line.”
