A mere hour or so into his new role as the co-chair of Labour’s Trident review and Ken Livingstone is already facing calls to step down. The former mayor of London has managed to put his foot in after making an insensitive mental health jibe during an interview with the Mirror.
When asked about comments made by Kevan Jones — Labour’s shadow defence minister — questioning whether he was the right person to help lead the review, Livingstone said Jones ‘might need some psychiatric help’:
‘I think he might need some psychiatric help. He’s obviously very depressed and disturbed. He should pop off and see his GP before he makes these offensive comments.’
As Jones has been very open about his battle with depression in the past. In light of his own experiences, he tells Coffee House that ‘anyone who makes comments like this is fit to represent the Labour party in any forum’.
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