LONDON mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone is a traitor who has sealed his fate as a Labour party outcast for ever, says the Burnley man who helped select him on to the party's short list of candidates.

Shahid Malik, one of 12 members of the party selection panel, said Mr Livingstone, who this week announced he would stand as an Independent against official Labour candidate Frank Dobson, had committed the ultimate betrayal of the party.

Mr Malik, son of Burnley deputy council leader Rafique Malik, is a development company executive in London and spends weekends in Burnley. He said he would work night and day to secure Mr Dobson's election.

Mr Malik said that during the hours-long examination of the former leader of the Greater London Council, the selection panel received an "absolute guarantee" from the MP that he would not stand as an Independent if he was not selected.

"He sat straight opposite me and volunteered that guarantee to us in clear knowledge of the selection process which he said he totally accepted.

"I believed him. I still believe we were right to place him on the short list, otherwise he would have made himself a martyr in the eyes of the people of London.

"Now he has shown us all his only interest is in furthering his own ends and I believe the people will see through him. He will do anything to become mayor."

Mr Malik added: "The media will play a vital role in the end result.

"I honestly don't know if Ken Livingstone will win, but if he is elected, it will be a disaster for London."

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