Livingstone: I won't toe the Labour line

Ken Livingstone today stated his determination to speak out against government policies, despite having been readmitted to the Labour Party.

The Mayor said he had been told by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott that his opposition to key policies, such as foundation hospitals and the Iraq war, was a "matter between you and London".

Despite reports he had signed a loyalty pledge, Mr Livingstone said there had been "no grubby deal" and he had simply been asked to guarantee he would "follow the rules of the party".

Asked on BBC London radio if he would "toe the line", the Mayor replied: "No. I'm not going to change. I am what I am, Tony Blair is what he is. We have developed a working relationship. Out of it London may get more money.

"Nothing I have done in the last three-and-a-half years would have been different if I had been a Labour Mayor."