Former Prime Minister Tony Blair gave preferential treatment to homosexual MPs, the Labour candidate for London mayor has revealed.
Ken Livingstone said: “As soon as Blair got in, if you came out as lesbian or gay you immediately got a job. It was wonderful.”
Mr Livingstone made the remark during an interview with New Statesman magazine.
Privacy
During the interview Mr Livingstone also said that the Conservative Party was “riddled” with homosexuality, and he described Margaret Thatcher as “clinically insane”.
Tory MPs Angie Bray and Mike Freer responded by writing to Labour leader Ed Miliband calling on him to ensure that the comments were retracted.
But a spokesperson for Mr Livingstone said: “Ken is clearly saying the advance of lesbian and gay people into politics is unequivocally a good thing.”
Election
In 2008 actor and homosexual campaigner Sir Ian McKellen revealed the level of influence Stonewall, a homosexual lobby group, exerted on Tony Blair’s policies while he was Prime Minister.
Speaking at Stonewall’s annual ‘Equality Dinner’ fundraiser, Sir Ian recalled meeting Tony Blair on behalf of Stonewall three months before his election as Prime Minister.
“I reeled off Stonewall’s demands, and he nodded, wrote them down and put a tick by them all. Then he said we will do all that”.