“It is not at all surprising that in the campaign now being waged against me are some former leftwingers, such as Bright and Nick Cohen, whose fear of multiculturalism and Islamism has tipped dangerously towards a paranoid Islamophobia that threatens harmonious community relations in this city. This group wants the mayoral election not to be waged on central issues for Londoners – affordable homes, public transport, investment in policing, radical policies to tackle climate change – but on their own obsessions.”

Ken Livingstone in the Guardian, 1 February 2008