Labour tears itself apart with 100 MPs signing pledge condemning ‘betrayal’ of party values on antisemitism by not expelling Ken Livingtone
Members are leaving the party - but Ken continues to defend his comments
OVER 100 Labour MPs have slammed the decision not to expel Ken Livingstone from the party over his controversial comments about Hitler and Zionism.
The former London has continued to defy critics by repeating controversial comments this afternoon - as members exit the party in droves.
Following last night's decision by Labour's National Constitutional Committee not to kick him out, outraged MPs have slammed them for a "betrayal of party's values over antisemitism".
includes Jewish MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smith - and former shadow cabinet ministers Chuka Umunna, Yvette Cooper and Angela Eagle
The list also includes the party's newest MP Gareth Snell - who won Stoke Central for Labour just weeks ago.
"This week the institutions of the Labour Party have betrayed our values.
"We stand united in making it clear that we will not allow our party to be a home for antisemitism and Holocaust revisionism.
"We stand with the Jewish community and British society against this insidious racism. This was not done in our name and we will not allow it to go unchecked."
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And Labour members are quitting the party over their handling of the situation.
Today leader Jeremy Corbyn caved to pressure and said he would refer the matter to the National Executive Committee - after a tidal wave of criticism.
Labour's Deputy Leader Tom Watson said the situation "shames us all" and that the failure to expel him was "incomprehensible".
Today Mr Livingstone rubbished claims that people were leaving the party because of him and insisted that he had not brought shame on the party.
And he went on to repeat his comments about Zionism - which he insisted were true.
He said: "The literal fact about all this is if you go on the Holocaust Memorial website in Jerusalem, and I don't think anyone's going to accuse them of being anti-Semitic, they've actually got a document about the agreement between Hitler and the Zionists in the 1930s."
He went on: "There is a difference between saying Hitler supported Zionism in the 1930s and saying 'Hitler was a Zionist’."
He suggested his long-time ally Mr Corbyn only released a statement condemning him because he was “under a great deal of pressure” and repeated claims that it was a story whipped up to make Labour look bad.
The former London Mayor revealed he has only seen Mr Corbyn once since his suspension a year ago.
Mr Livingstone said: "I've just been getting the kids to school, walking the dog, doing the shopping, I'm a 1950s housewife."
Asked if he was going to go quietly he said: "No, I came into politics to tell the truth and I'm not going to change.
"I was never part of that New Labour strategy of dissembling and evasion. I don't feel embarrassed.”"
But he did reveal that he wishes he had not given the interview to BBC London last year that kicked off the whole furore.
He said if he could go back and not speak to Vanessa Feltz "we would have avoided all this nonsense over the last 11 months".