Red Ken left with red face!

Originally Posted by northwind

Nah, I think he's refusing to apologise because if he did, he'd have to admit he'd done something wrong... The whole thing sort of smacks of putting Al Capone inside on tax evasion- Ken annoys everyone, so when they do pin him down for something they swat him as hard as they can regardless of what it was.

Didnt think of that.

I suppose, the thing is though: he didnt break the law.
And, he did get where he is democratically.

Then these three people decide that London has no Mayor for 4 weeks.

And who are these people that were picked?
David Laverick, a solicitor;
Darryl Stephenson, former counciler;
Peter Norris, a former civil servant.

I am sure they are solid upstanding citizens. But, that's how it works? No law was broken, but, had he broken a law, he could have stood before a court and jury maybe, and there would be statutes, and guidelines.

But, this is not the case here? He has even less rights here than he would have had he broken the law. The government (who are distinctly brassed off with him) just picks three people that they sort of know, who turf him out of his job for 4 weeks.
Something is seriously not right here.

Whatever you think of Ken Livingstone and his comments, you have to be aware of his appeal.

How can 3 unelected people decide my future and leave Londoners without a mayor?

Well in the real world you snivel nosed creep, it happens everyday in a magistrates court, the minions have to accept a sentence handed down by 3 people who have no real world knowledge.

In this standards committee of 3 unelected men, there are no Goldsteins or Goldblooms :P

The politically correct being done for being politcally incorrect.
Hoist by your own petard.

i actually respect Ken more for standing his ground like this - why should he have to apologise when he doesn't think he's done anything wrong, which is a view shared by many, including several Jewish people who I've discussed this with.

The country has gone PC mad and it's coming for govt workers who are scared of getting the council sued or something, rather than the majority of people from X faith or Y gender or Z country who really don't mind if we have Christmas tree in a school, or whatever the so-called issue is. It damages relations across society more if you make such a big thing of it, and you can bet in this case the journalist only kicked up a fuss afterwards to get the story

I don't agree with everything Ken does, but credit to the man for coming up with an intelligent remark to direct at an irritating journalist rather than a bunch of expletives which is all most people seem to be capable of these days. the irony is if he'd launched into a tirade of abuse he'd probably be ok now...

[Spiderman]

I was further sadnened to hear on Newsnight that neither the reporter or the Standard had reported him for the remarks he had made.
It was taken up the the Board of Jewish Deputies. To my mind this organisation screams "Anti Semitism" at every opportunity where a Jew is criticised. Regardless of the facts or what the person in question has done this Board goes all out to suggest that the reason this person is being 'persecuted' is because he is a Jew, not because what he did was bad/wrong/worthy of critcism. Their view is to not discuss the original issue that brougt about the comments or what the person did, but how they are being treated after the fact.

I think people should be treated equally, regardless of their faith. That also means people should be allowed to be criticised for their actions equally, regardless of their faith.

[Spiderman]

Well a Judge has decided that its a silly enough situation for him to be able to freeze the suspension till the court case/ appeal.

If ken loses his appeal is it taxpayers money that is spent for his lawyers? Anyone know?
Wouldnt suprise me if they gave him legal aid.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

If ken loses his appeal is it taxpayers money that is spent for his lawyers? Anyone know?
Wouldnt suprise me if they gave him legal aid.

Honestly... I think argueing this case is a good thing to spend tax payers money on.
Certain people, (ie the governement) has not behaved well during this business.

If some ruling is handed down saying the govt cant just kick people out of democratically appointed positions whenever they feel like it, this is a good thing for the UK.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Well a Judge has decided that its a silly enough situation for him to be able to freeze the suspension till the court case/ appeal.

If ken loses his appeal is it taxpayers money that is spent for his lawyers? Anyone know?
Wouldnt suprise me if they gave him legal aid.

Come on should know by now they don't care about spending our money. I mean if it looks like they're getting a bit short they can always get more.

If a business was run like the government/civil serice their share holders would kick the board out so quickly they wouldn't touch the pavement

Surely the Jewish gentleman concerned couldn't possibly be offended by the notion that a stereotypical nazi prison guard was cruel, aggressive and mindlessly did their job.

I think red Ken is a chimp, but he should be kicked out for something he has actually done wrong (Lord knows there's enough), rather than making a joke that backfired.

And in any event, a months paid leave isn't much of a punishment.