Hoey 'deplorable' for backing Boris

Last Modified: 29 Apr 2008
By: Krishnan Guru-Murthy

London MP Jeremy Corbyn tells Channel 4 News at Noon that Kate Hoey is 'giving support for Boris Johnson' and it is 'deplorable' and 'regrettable'.

The Labour MP and former sports minister Kate Hoey has revealed that she has agreed to work with the Conservative London Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson should he win on Thursday.

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London Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has told Channel 4 News at Noon that he thinks that Hoey is "giving support for Boris Johnson" and that he thinks: "It is deplorable, regrettable and she should get behind Ken Livingstone".

Asked whether in his view she has broken party rules, Corbyn replied:

'The reason I agreed to work with Boris is because he asked me to. Nobody else has. I am not endorsing Boris Johnson's campaign to be mayor - I'm a Labour MP'
Kate Hoey

"Labour party rules say that you are not supposed to do anything to support a candidate who is standing against an official Labour candidate.

"Somebody is going to have to decide whether not endorsing somebody - but agreeing to work with them after the election - when they haven't even been elected - whether that is support or not."

Responding to the assertion that Hoey is following Gordon Brown's example of inviting people into the Labour party who are not members, Mr Corbyn replied:

"Indeed [Mr Brown] has and I think that is a rather large mistake by Gordon Brown. And it is something he might come to regret in the future".

"The point about a political party is surely that you vote for a political party expecting that political party to be in office and form a government.

"What you don't expect is non Labour people - indeed some who've clearly been very hostile to the Labour party in the past - becoming ministers, such as Digby Jones."

Hoey says she will help Boris Johnson try and secure a long-lasting legacy for London's grassroots sports from the 2012 Olympic Games.

In a statement Hoey said: "The reason I agreed to work with Boris is because he asked me to. Nobody else has. I am not endorsing Boris Johnson's campaign to be mayor - I'm a Labour MP."

The current mayor Ken Livingstone described Hoey as a "semi-detached member of the Labour party" while the Lib Dem candidate Brian Paddick said the former sports minister was "bonkers" and that she and Johnson would make "a good couple".

The Conservative leader, David Cameron said he was "delighted" she had agreed to help Johnson.