Ken Livingstone must be expelled by Labour party for Hitler 'insult', says Baroness Chakrabarti

'He has brought it repeatedly into disrepute. He has brought shame upon it and his own legacy'

Ken Livingstone must be kicked out of Labour for bringing “shame” upon the party, says the peer who investigated antisemitism allegations.

Baroness Chakrabarti launched a blistering attack on the former London mayor for repeating the “insult” that Hitler was a Zionist, after the “lenient” sentence of being suspended.

“I find it very difficult, very difficult now, to see how any rational decision maker could allow Mr Livingstone to stay in our party,” the peer said.

“He has brought it repeatedly into disrepute. He has brought shame upon it and his own legacy.

“And we need to apologise to Jewish members, supporters and voters for the insult, the incendiary remarks, equating people trying to escape Nazis with Nazis themselves.”

Mr Livingstone – who has been suspended for two years – has vowed to fight to stay in the party, insisting he has been punished for telling “the truth”.

But Baroness Chakrabarti added: “Whatever the wisdom of the original decision to suspend, probably in the light of his years of contribution, he’s repeated the offence.

“And so, now, there is a new even more aggravated case to consider in the light of recent comments and their effect perhaps on some local election results.

“So as I say, it won’t be my decision but this stuff is all over the public record. And I’m sorry to say it but I don’t believe that Ken Livingstone can any longer be in the Labour Party.

However, controversially, the peer – who carried out her inquiry into antisemitism within Labour for Jeremy Corbyn, in 2016 – hinted that its former general secretary had failed to act swiftly.

Labour moderates have defended the role played by Iain McNicol, who left earlier this year, believing the leader’s office obstructed firmer action.

But Baroness Chakrabarti, speaking to the BBC1’s Sunday Politics programme, said: “I think the reasons for that lack of implementation are partly, looking back, that factionalism at times got in the way on both sides of that debate.

“I’m really delighted to say that Jennie Formby [the new general secretary] has taken probably more action to implement my report in the last month than has happened in two years.”

Mr Livingstone has denied that his claim that Hitler at one point supported Zionism amounted to saying the dictator was a Zionist.

Earlier this month, he told an interviewer: “What’s been so bad is that, two years on, this smear about me is still there unchallenged.”

However, the former mayor admitted the allegation had probably cost Labour the chance to snatch control of Barnet council, saying: “If anyone believes I said Hitler was a Zionist, yes, that’s damaging.”

Labour councillors in the London borough – an area with a large Jewish population – have blamed the allegations of antisemitism in the party for their defeat this month.