• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

You made the point that Londoners can judge. Well that judgment depends on who they believe, does it not? KEN LIVINGSTONE: Yes. GRAHAM TOPE: And we are not, as is observed, in a position or are equipped to make that judgment. We are agreed about that. Given the gravity of the behaviour by the Evening Standard that you suggest -- it cannot really get much more serious can it - your allegations about the paper? And you agree too that if the allegation were well founded you could not continue in office could you? Against that background do you still...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

I understand that because it is common ground between all of us, not just the behaviour, which would be disgraceful, but the suggestion of putting pressure on someone to change a statement and put out something false, would be disgraceful and misleading the Assembly, which was implicit. You have made your position clear as far as that is concerned. Can you just help me about this: given that Mr Hedges, I think you were quoted in the press, was in a vulnerable situation, would he have been better perhaps to have got some third party to have dealt with the...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

: What you are making quite clear to the Assembly is that this is not one of those incidents where there is scope for confusion or misunderstanding. These are outright lies, there is no argument about that. Allegations which if true, and I appreciate what you have said, would clearly be allegations of disgraceful conduct.

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

Can I just thank the Mayor for that very long and detailed explanation. I am extremely grateful for it. I have only got one question, really, Ken. Are you going to sue the Standard?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

Can I thank you Mr Mayor for being so frank with us today. I understand why you do not want to sue, for libel presumably, the Evening Standard. Have you considered referring it to the Press Complaints Commission?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

TOBY HARRIS: I hope it was of reasonable quality. KEN LIVINGSTONE: It was, it was. TOBY HARRIS: Clearly the last few weeks have been enormously diverting in terms of your time and energy, in terms certainly of distraction. This has been a period when you have been launching the draft Spatial Development Strategy. Can you give us some indication of the extent to which have you have been occupied in dealing with these matters when perhaps you might have been dealing with the business of London?

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

First of all Mr Mayor can I thank you for the very full statements that you have made and the detail into which you have gone and I hope that it is not necessary for you, or indeed any or politician, to have to go into such detail about such matters in the future. As you will no doubt be aware lots of people around and about are busy speculating as to what may or may not have gone on at the party. And you have given a very clear indication. Much of that speculation has not found its way...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

I only ask that because there is a report in the Press Association referring to this which carries a direct quote from you, apparently, to be in these terms asking if it was you who told your office to put out the statement and you said, of course it was, which you confirmed to us. And you are quoted in direct speech as saying, "Robin was recovering. He could not handle the press directly." I said "Do you want us to put this out?" And he said yes, which gives the impression of a direct conversation.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

I wonder who drew up the words that appear in that first statement?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 26 March 2003

This may be one of the Evening Standard's problems at the moment. You welcomed, or you were quoted as welcoming, the possibility of a police investigation to clear it all up. Would you welcome an investigation by the Standards Board for the same reason.