Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, issued a statement attacking his old ally’s “grossly insensitive” comments and backed second disciplinary hearing into related comments.

However Mr Corbyn faced criticism as on the same day he said Mr Livingstone should “contribute to our party's work in trying to win elections” in the coming years.

There were also renewed calls for Mr Corbyn to step down as a former Labour official compared Mr Livingstone’s punishment to a “slap on the wrist”.