“Bizarrely, since the world has talked of little else since 9/11, most people here don’t understand Islamic politics, so the sight of Livingstone embracing supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood doesn’t shock them as it should. Let me put it bluntly: it is no different from the Mayor embracing the BNP as the authentic voice of white Londoners. Go Lib Dem, Green or Tory if you must. But don’t vote for this wretched man. He has betrayed the honour of the British left.”

Nick Cohen contributes to the “Can Ken still cut it?” debate in Time Out, 5-11 December 2007