Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said he would apply a “Nelson Mandela test” to new proposals announced by the Home Secretary on Wednesday as a response to last month’s bombings. Livingstone said he would judge the proposals on whether it would have ensnared supporters of Nelson Mandela when he was earlier in prison after leading an armed anti-government struggle. He added that if Britain banned Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi from entering the country, he would take the government to court.

MAB press release, 25 August 2005

See also Islam Online, 25 August 2005