MBRM helps Mayor avoid suspension over Nazi jibe

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw (MBRM) to thank for successfully appealing a tribunal decision to suspend him for four weeks.

High Court judge Mr Justice Collins ruled that Livingstone was not guilty of bringing the Office of the Mayor of London into disrepute after an argument with a Jewish Evening Standard reporter in which he compared him to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Livingstone made the comments at a party for fellow politician Chris Smith, leading Collins J to make the distinction between personal and public matters. "Misuse of the office can bring disrepute on the office, but personal misconduct will be unlikely to do so," said Collins J in his judgment.

Collins J overruled a previous decision from the Case Tribunal of the Adjudication Panel for England.

MBRM partner Tony Child advised Livingstone, assisted by consultant Judy Libovitch. Child said: "This matter was very significant as freedom of speech was at stake. The courts described it as the life blood of democracy."

Landmark Chambers managed to get its barristers on both sides of the dispute. MBRM instructed barrister James Maurici, while lawyers from the Standards Board for England advised the Case Tribunal, instructing Timothy Morshead.