KEN LIVINGSTONE was under intense pressure last night to apologise for an allegedly anti-Semitic remark which is overshadowing the most crucial week for London’s 2012 Olympic bid.
Inspectors from the International Olympic Committee arrived yesterday to evaluate the capital’s £25 million campaign.
Supporters of the bid now fear that the Mayor of London’s refusal to apologise for his remarks is distracting attention from the four-day visit which climaxes with a dinner hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
The Times has learnt that some members of the London 2012 team have privately expressed disappointment at Mr Livingstone’s behaviour.
But at a press conference yesterday the mayor repeatedly refused to apologise for telling a Jewish reporter that he was behaving like a concentration camp guard, despite admitting that the remark was offensive.
Advertisement
Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary and Cabinet minister responsible for the Olympic effort, is among a growing number of politicians dismayed by Mr Livingstone’s conduct. A senior official in the Culture Department said last night: “This is carrying on much longer than we would have hoped. We would not want this sort of distraction in such an important week.
“We would rather it would not have happened at this time. The Secretary of State has already said if you lose your temper it is good to apologise.”
Sir Gerald Kaufman, chairman of the Commons culture select committee, said that the remarks could tarnish the Olympic bid. “With Madrid disfigured by the recent Eta terrorist atrocity and Paris potentially handicapped by what Muslims regard as France’s anti-Islamic prejudice, London really has a chance to shine. Will Ken’s lippy remarks tarnish that sheen?” he said.
However, Lord Coe, the head of London 2012, said last night that the row would not jeopardise Britain’s chances.
He said that the IOC team was here to examine the technical aspects and “will certainly not be deflected from anything else”.
Advertisement
Asked if Mr Livingstone should apologise, Lord Coe said: “I am not currently a serving politician. I’m chairman of the London Olympic bid for 2012. I do not think it is my place to advise him.”
But the Culture Department source added: “The Secretary of State knows that the IOC can tell the difference between a domestic spat and so does not think this will damage the bid.”
The fear of the bid team is that every stage of the visit, which will include trips to the proposed Olympic park on a 500-acre plot in Stratford, East London, will be hijacked by the ongoing row over Mr Livingstone. The 13-strong team is due to meet Tony Blair and Mr Livingstone in Downing Street on Friday. There is a growing furore among leading politicians and Jewish organisations. Lord Moynihan, the Shadow Sports Minister and Olympic silver medallist, claimed that the mayor had harmed Britain’s chances of staging the Games.
“The London mayor is the key figure. As the mayor of the city he represents the bid as his signature is attached to all the 2012 documents,” he said.
“The disgraceful racist abuse of black English players at the soccer friendly in Spain in December did untold damage to Madrid’s 2012 Olympic hopes. This is a serious matter which will do the bid no good particularly as the Olympic committee is here. The mayor should apologise. He should have done so already.”
Advertisement
Kate Hoey, the former Labour Sports Minister and international athlete, said: “The mayor has behaved in a typically arrogant way. He should realise that if he wants London to win the bid he should swallow his pride and say sorry.” Mr Livingstone said at a packed press conference at City Hall: “You can make the case my remarks were offensive and that they may be actionable and may have recourse in law, but you can’t make the case they were racist.”
Asked yesterday if he would apologise if Tony Blair demanded a retraction, Mr Livingstone said: “He (Blair) has no intention of making me Foreign Secretary and we have our respective roles.
“I am not going to apologise if I do not believe that I have not done something wrong. I am not going to appease media pressure by lying.”
He is refusing to give a written reply to the London Assembly until after the Olympic team had left.
The IOC committee is here to analyse the technical side of the bid and to gauge public support for the staging of the Games in Britain for the first time since 1948.
Advertisement
Officials close to the IOC said that while their prime objective was to study plans for the stadiums, transport and security, they will have concerns that the mayor of a potential host city is accused of anti-Semitism.
A spokesman for the British Board of Deputies, which has made the complaint to the watchdog body the Standards Board for England, said:
“The mayor’s comments are damaging to London. He should apologise.”
Mr Livingstone could be suspended from public office for up to five years if the complaint is upheld.