Ken Livingstone has revealed he has five children by three different women.

The Mayor of London said that as well as two young children by his partner Emma Beale, he has two older daughters by one woman and a son with another.

He is thought to have made the disclosure about the three other children, previously unknown to the general public, to pre-empt attempts to damage his mayoral campaign.

He told BBC London: "What happens in my private life is a matter solely for me and the people that share my private life.

"If I had secrets that my family or my close friends didn't know about then that would be a different matter.

"But there's a difference between private and secret and I think the media's got to understand that."

He added: "I don't think anybody in this city is shocked about what consenting adults do.

"As long as you don't involve children, animals and vegetables, they leave you to get on and live their own life in their own way."

Following the report, Mr Livingstone's campaign said: "Ken never discusses the private life either of himself or of his opponents.

"He has no intention of discussing in this election either the private life of Boris Johnson, Brian Paddick, or himself. What Londoners want to discuss in this election is transport, crime, housing, good community relations and the environment."

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