Out:Livingstone

Ken Livingstone's hopes of being readmitted to the Labour Party have been dashed.

The Labour Party chairman, Charles Clarke, has admitted to having had secret talks with the London mayor but said he expects Livingstone to run for re-election as an independent candidate.

"I have talked to Ken. He has told me he might be prepared to come back and join the Labour party if we were to want him to do so. But he would not under any circumstances be prepared to join any Labour selection process for the next mayoral candidate," Clarke told journalists.

Clarke said the matter was now effectively closed saying: "I do not expect him to be back in the Labour Party."

This statement raises the prospect of another messy mayoral election for the Labour government.

A spokesman for the mayor said that he would not consider rejoining Labour if there was any prospect of having to contest a selection process for the mayoral candidacy.

"It was a rigged selection process last time, so how can they say this now," he said.