London Mayor 'Red Ken' Drinking on the Job

Maybe he'll blame his idiotic politics on the 94 proof whisky.

Naturally, he claims there's a smear campaign against him.

London's Mayor Ken Livingstone was at the centre of an alcohol row last night after a TV documentary secretly tested his drink at a public meeting and claimed it was whisky.

Channel 4's Dispatches programme, to be broadcast tomorrow night, accuses Mr Livingstone of "astonishing and shocking" drinking habits and being "a law unto himself".

It shows him allegedly drinking whisky at a public meeting in London and at a 10am meeting at his office.

The programme-makers say they secretly obtained a sample of Mr Livingstone's drink and had it tested at a laboratory which said it was 47 per cent alcohol, stronger than most whiskies.

On another occasion Mr Livingstone, whose hobbies famously include collecting newts, is said to have told an undercover Channel 4 reporter:

"It's the whisky that keeps me going."

Mr Livingstone has vehemently denied that he drinks too much and claims he is the victim of a smear campaign designed to stop him winning the mayoral election in May.

The controversial documentary was made by Martin Bright, political editor of the Left-wing New Statesman magazine.

He claims Mr Livingstone's drinking has prompted criticism from fellow London politicians, including Labour members.

The Dispatches team say they observed Mr Livingstone drinking on two occasions.

The first was at a "People's Question Time" event at Ilford Town Hall in East London on October 25 attended by 600 people.

Mr Bright says: "I went down to Ilford Town Hall and was shocked by what I saw."

After stating that Mr Livingstone was drinking "from a glass containing an amber liquid and he repeatedly drank from this glass during the evening."

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