Livingstone hit by new allegations over advisers

The Tories called for an independent inquiry into claims the Mayor's aides breached City Hall rules by working on his 2004 election campaign.

Former adviser Atma Singh claimed he and other advisers raised large sums from donors and wrote political articles and briefings while drawing public salaries.

Mr Singh was speaking to Channel 4 documentary Dispatches, being broadcast tonight, which also claims the Mayor's senior aides were members of a secret Trotskyite cell and ran a smear campaign against equalities chief Trevor Phillips.

Shadow London minister Bob Neill said the allegations had become so serious they should be properly investigated by an independent body such as the Audit Commission.

"Nobody can have any faith in the independence of the City Hall mechanisms any more. There's a need for something more independent and much tougher," Mr Neill said.

Yesterday Gordon Brown defended Mr Livingstone, saying: "He has a proven record of success and I think that's what people are looking at. That is how people will judge him."

Mr Livingstone today claimed he was the victim of a "hatchet job" by Channel 4. In a statement, a spokesman for Mr Livingstone's campaign denounced claims in the programme, made by New Statesman political editor Martin Bright, as "ludicrous" and accused it of "smearing" the Mayor. The statement claimed Dispatches had been "totally discredited" after documentaries on Aids and climate change. The spokesman called the allegations "an attempt to divert attention from the real issues in the London Mayor election: transport, policing, housing, good community relations and the environment."

A GLA statement described Mr Singh, the Mayor's policy adviser on Asian affairs until last year, as an "embittered ex-employee" who was "removed" from his job for failure to discharge his duties. It accused Mr Singh of making "unfounded allegations" about senior officials.

The Tories accused the Government of "washing their hands" of the affair and trying to "distance themselves" to avoid any embarrassing fallout. The programme claims the Mayor'smost senior aides, including his chief of staff and principal economics adviser, have been members of the secretive group Socialist Action that plotted to turn London into a "socialist city state". The advisers have allegedly refused to say whether they remain members. A GLA spokeswoman refused to comment on the allegation.

Dispatches also accused Mr Livingstone of drinking whisky at a public meeting and at his office but the Mayor has vehemently denied he drinks too much.