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Labour's civil war exploded today after Ken Livingstone said a Shadow Defence Minister who suffered with depression “might need some psychiatric help”.

The former London Mayor claimed Labour MP Kevan Jones “should see his GP” after Mr Jones questioned whether he should be leading a review of Labour's defence policies.

Mr Livingstone told the Mirror: “I think he might need some psychiatric help. He's obviously very depressed and disturbed.

“He should pop off and see his GP before he makes these offensive comments.”

The shocking outburst came as Labour's deep divisions over its military policies raged into the open.

Mr Jones said today: "I find these comments gravely offensive not just personally but also to the many thousands who suffer from mental illness.

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"This is why Ken Livingstone can't be taken seriously in defence or any other policy issues.

"I and a lot of people will be very angry about such insensitive and stupid comments.

"Offensive statements like this just reinforce the stigma about mental illness."

He urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to "seriously consider whether Ken Livingstone is fit to represent the party if he's prepared to insult tens of thousands of the electorate who suffer from mental illness".

Today Mr Corbyn responded - saying the former London mayor should apologise.

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A spokesman for the Labour leader said: "Jeremy is incredibly concerned that people with mental health problems shouldn't be stigmatised.

"He has worked with Kevan in the past on this issue and is impressed by his bravery in speaking out on his own mental health issues. Ken should apologise to him straight away."

Mr Livingstone said he was unaware of Mr Jones' illness when he made his comments.

After refusing repeatedly to say sorry for the outburst, Mr Livingstone eventually made a grovelling apology for his comments on Twitter.

He wrote: "They should not have been made at all, let alone in this context."

But Mr Jones retorted: "And what about apologising to other thousands of people he insulted?"

Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health Luciana Berger added: "Mr Livingstone’s comments are simply unacceptable, and he should apologise without delay.

"An individual’s mental health should never be the excuse for insults, jibes or political point-scoring.

"These comments should be treated as seriously as racism or sexism. Any reasonable person should be appalled, and I trust Mr Livingstone will retract his words straight away. We all need to tackle stigma and prejudice in the area of mental health.”

The row highlights Labour's deep division over defence, including whether it should back RAF bombing raids in Syria or support renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.

But the move to appoint anti-nuclear campaigner Mr Livingstone will be seen as a declaration of war by the party hierarchy, with Mr Corbyn fiercely opposed to replacing the four Trident submarines.

And it is a blow to Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle who has spoken of her backing for Trident.

(Image: Birmingham Post and Mail / Jeremy Pardoe)

But his shocking intervention is likely to spark outrage among mental health campaigners.

Mr Jones was one of a handful of MPs who bravely spoke out about their battles with depression in a landmark Commons debate three years ago.

The Durham North MP said he had "thought very long and hard" about whether to speak publicly about his mental health problems in 2012.

"In 1996 I suffered from quite a deep depression related to work issues and other things going on in my life at that moment," he revealed.

(Image: Paul Gilham)

"Like a lot of men, you try and deal with it yourself. You don't talk to people. I just hope you realise what I'm saying is very difficult right now."

He said it was important to talk about mental health in Parliament because "we are... in politics designed to admit that somehow if you admit fault or frailty you are going to be looked upon in a disparaging way, in terms of both the electorate and your peers as well".

He "didn't know" whether his admission would affect how people viewed him or his career prospects but added: "I actually don't care now because if it helps other people who have suffered from depression in the past – good."

Mr Livingstone was speaking to the Mirror after his surprise appointment to jointly lead a review to help decide Labour's position on Britain's Trident deterrent.

(Image: Rex)

The long-time opponent of nuclear weapons is to co-convene the party's policy commission alongside Ms Eagle.

The move sparked fresh among Labour MPs, including Mr Jones who held the defence brief for seven years, and served as a minister under Gordon Brown.

He told PoliticsHome: "I'm not sure Ken knows anything about defence.

"It will only damage our credibility amongst those that do and who care about defence."

Responding to the appointment, backbencher Wes Streeting took to Twitter, linking his post to a report of Mr Livingstone arguing that "the endless interventions of Britain and America and France in Arab countries ... has come back to haunt us".

"Is this the same Ken Livingstone co-chairing Labour's defence review?" the Ilford North MP asked.

(Image: Reuters)

But Mr Livingstone pointed to his experience as London Mayor during the July 7, 2005 terror attacks on the capital.

Of his opposition to Trident, he said nuclear weapons were no deterrent to ISIS, telling the Mirror the submarines “didn't stop the attacks on London 10 years ago or the attacks on Paris this weekend”.

Earlier this month, Mr Livingstone called Ms Eagle "mad" after she backed General Sir Nicholas Houghton's concerns about Mr Corbyn's anti-Trident stance.

Today, he believed he and Ms Eagle “maybe able to find a consensus and get to the facts rather than all the opinions … that has clouded our debate about nuclear weapons”.

But he added: “Would that money be better spent … by improving the rest of our armed forces, not just relying on four or five submarines that we never get round to using?”

The ex-London Mayor also said he was not in favour of extending RAF bombing raids against ISIS from Iraq into Syria.

He branded the terror group "an abhorrent organisation that do terrible things to its own people, enslaves women as well as the beheading and all of that".