Ken Livingstone has said he is resigning from the Labour party saying the issues around his suspension for alleged antisemitism.
The ex-London mayor and London MP was suspended in 2016 following comments he made about Hitler and Zionism, which he said had become a “distraction” for the party.
“After much consideration, I have decided to resign from the Labour party. We desperately need a Corbyn-led government to transform Britain and I’ll continue to work to this end,” he said in a statement.
“The ongoing issues around my suspension from the Labour party have become a distraction from the key political issue of our time – which is to replace a Tory government overseeing falling living standards and spiralling poverty, while starving our schools and the NHS of the vital resources they need.”
Jeremy Corbyn said that Livingstone’s resignation was sad but “the right thing to do”.
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitsm Corbyn’s description Livingstone’s resignation as “sad” just “rubbed salt into the wound”.
“The Labour Party’s anti-Semitism problem seems to be growing, not receding,” said the group.
The comments made by Livingstone were back in April 2016, when the MP defended MP Naz Shah over claims she had made anti-Semitic social media posts.
“When Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews,” he said.
Livingstone has maintained his statement is accurate and “did not accept” his allegation was anti-Semitic.
“I do not accept the allegation that I have brought the Labour party into disrepute – nor that I am in any way guilty of antisemitism,” he said. “I abhor antisemitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so.
“I also recognise that the way I made a historical argument has caused offence and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.”