Ken: Jasper was wrong but I still want him back

The Mayor said his former race adviser's sexually-charged emails to a woman involved in organisations which received public funds were "inappropriate".

He admitted he was "disappointed" over the row which prompted Mr Jasper's resignation but failed to back away from his pledge to reinstate him.

The Mayor's staff are governed by a code of conduct which requires them to disclose any "close personal" relationships with groups that receive funding.

Mr Livingstone said: "He breached that absolutely. I'm disappointed... He was wrong not to do that."

It is the first time the Mayor has admitted that Mr Jasper had done anything wrong. However, he insisted he did not regret the faith he placed in his former aide. It comes after his senior economics aide John Ross told the London Assembly yesterday that his former colleague had broken City Hall rules.

In an interview with LBC radio, Mr Livingstone said: "He sent some silly emails, no one disagrees with that, it's very embarrassing. It's clearly not appropriate but that doesn't mean to say that Lee Jasper has had any financial benefit from anything that he's done as my race adviser.

"Before all these emails came out we were dealing with very serious allegations of fraud... He resigned because this stuff is embarrassing. It's not illegal, its embarrassing."

Mr Jasper stepped down earlier this week after The Standard revealed a string of messages sent to Karen Chouhan, the company secretary of the 1990 Trust and director of the Black Londoner's Forum, which received more than £638,000 from the Mayor's office.

At no point did he declare his relationship with Mrs Chouhan or any interest in either

organisation, in clear breach of City Hall rules. She has denied being involved in a sexual relationship with Mr Jasper.

Mr Livingstone said he would appoint an independent lawyer to investigate Mr Jasper's conduct, suggesting that if he was cleared by the police he could be reinstated, despite breaking City Hall rules.

"The police will investigate illegality, these things aren't illegal they're a breach of our code," he said.

He insisted there was "not a shred of evidence

yet" to suggest any criminal wrongdoing-on Mr Jasper's part. The Mayor claimed that a City Hall insider had "stolen" Mr Jasper's computer password and accessed his email account. "Somebody broke into the office and downloaded everything, his City Hall office. So clearly somebody knows how to access and has the computer skills to break it open and get in."

Mr Livingstone claimed he had been subject of surveillance - from either MI5

or the newspapers - his whole career. "I'm sure my phone has been bugged all my life, and my PAs and all of that. If it's not bugged by MI5 it's bugged by newspapers, there's a real little industry of private investigators." He admitted that Mr Jasper's salary had gone up from £40,000 - his pay during the first term - to £120,000 in one leap.

"In the second term, I could see no reason why the people I had appointed were being paid less than the people the Assembly had appointed," he said.