A ridiculous ruling...

I think he should be allowed to say what he thinks....but this ruling is absolutely silly.

When is the Mayor of London not the Mayor of London? When he is calling a Jewish reporter a concentration camp guard.

Ken Livingstone successfully argued yesterday that he was not acting in his official capacity when he made the comment as he left an official party he was hosting.

Lawyers representing him at a hearing into his conduct said that because he had left the function and was on his way home he was acting as a private citizen when he made the comment.

He was therefore not in breach of the Greater London Authority's code of conduct because he was not working for them at the time.

The mayor was appearing before the independent Adjudication Panel facing two charges of breaching the code by his "failure to treat others with respect" and "bringing his office or authority into disrepute".

Mr Livingstone's comments were made to an Evening Standard reporter as he left City Hall on Feb 8 this year after hosting a reception to celebrate 20 years since the first openly gay MP, Chris Smith, "came out".

During the exchange, the reporter, Oliver Finegold, asked if it had been a good party, to which Mr Livingstone replied: "What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?"

When Mr Finegold said he was Jewish and therefore offended by the comment, Mr Livingstone added: "Well you might be Jewish but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?"

I can't imagine them holding a straight face when announcing this ruling.