NS: London’s Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone has been cleared of anti-Jewish remarks about two businessmen – the second such charge he has faced in months. In March he told brothers David and Simon Reuben to “go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs”.?

The maverick, who originally left Labour to stand as an independent for the post in charge of the English capital, accused the pair of jeopardising the business group behind part of the city’s Olympic strategy.

But the brothers – who are not Iranian but were born in India to parents of Iraqi/Jewish descent – accused him of anti-semitism.

Last night an investigation by the Greater London Authority dismissed their allegation saying his rebuke was “proportionate and reasonable”.

The investigating officer found no evidence of anti-semitism, racism or malice.

The exoneration was a relief to Mr Livingstone who is appealing against a month-long suspension from office for likening a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard.