I was interested to read, over on Andrew Gilligan’s blog, that Val Shawcross, Ken Livingstone’s running mate, has spoken out against his support for Qaradawi, and has also asserted that he should have apologised sooner to the journalist, Oliver Finegold, whom he compared to a concentration camp guard.
Gilligan doubts that this should be seen as a sign that Livingstone himself is preparing to retract some of his views and statements on such issues, and it is probably worth noting that the remarks were made at Limmud, and thus to an audience likely to be alert to what Qaradawi stands for.
However, if it does turn out to be an indication that Livingstone’s Labour colleagues are beginning to take a firmer line on these matters then that would certainly be a welcome development.
