Ken Livingstone moved to tears on live radio by speech he made after 7/7 attack

 
Moved: Ken Livingstone appears to wipe tears away from his eyes on LBC radio this morning (Picture: LBC/YouTube)
LBC/YouTube
Sebastian Man7 July 2015

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone was today moved to tears as he listened back to the speech he made following the 7/7 terror attacks.

In the recording, he told the terrorists they would fail in their long-term objective to "destroy our free society" no matter how many they killed, and celebrated London's solidarity and diversity.

Appearing on LBC radio today to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, he appeared to wipe away tears as his lengthy and highly-praised speech came to an end.

In it he brands the bombings a "cowardly attack", before saying: "It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old.

"It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever.

"That isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted faith - it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other."

He added: "Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.

"I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous.

"But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail."

Mr Livingstone is a politician who has divided opinion, but response to the speech - made from Singapore the day after London had been awarded the 2012 Olympics - was overwhelmingly positive.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ken Livingstone's finest moment <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=https://t.co/ZuVKI2VUmq" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://t.co/ZuVKI2VUmq" data-vars-event-id="c23">https://t.co/ZuVKI2VUmq</a>— John Rentoul (@JohnRentoul) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/618334547638415360" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/618334547638415360" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 7, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ken Livingstone's finest moment, finding the right words ten years ago today <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sevenseven?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/hashtag/sevenseven?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#sevenseven</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/London?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/hashtag/London?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#London</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=http://t.co/8RbnvZkEZJ" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-http://t.co/8RbnvZkEZJ" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/8RbnvZkEZJ</a>— Chris Morris (@BBCChrisMorris) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BBCChrisMorris/status/618396215655444481" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/BBCChrisMorris/status/618396215655444481" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 7, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Whatever you think of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ken4london" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/ken4london" data-vars-event-id="c23">@ken4london</a>, his speech after 7/7 was brilliant. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=http://t.co/BMEugG1dtr" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-http://t.co/BMEugG1dtr" data-vars-event-id="c23">http://t.co/BMEugG1dtr</a>— Rick (@FlipChartRick) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/FlipChartRick/status/618296285599256576" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-10186-https://twitter.com/FlipChartRick/status/618296285599256576" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 7, 2015</a>

As London's inaugural mayor, Mr Livingstone served for eight years before being ousted in 2008 by Boris Johnson. He also stood against Mr Johnson in 2012, when he lost a second time.

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