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Ken Livingstone today said he will threaten Labour with a judicial review if he is expelled from the party for breaking its rules.

The former mayor of London said taking the party to court was the “obvious” next step if his membership is revoked for remarks he made about Hitler. He told the Standard that he has received 10,000 comments from people supporting him since he was suspended 11 months ago after a series of TV and radio interviews.

And he added: “The obvious thing would be a judicial review because that would be heard in public and that would be the best way of clearing the air of these lies and smears. This isn’t North Korea, we are supposed to be an open democracy.”

On the second day of his party disciplinary hearing in Westminster — which is held in private — he is expected to use historical analysis to explain his previous remarks. He denies he is anti-Semitic and said he has been falsely accused of claiming that Hitler was a Zionist.

Last night Mr Livingstone, 71, told reporters: “I simply said, back in 1933 Hitler’s government signed a deal with the Zionist movement, which would mean that Germany’s Jewish community were moved to what is now Israel.”

He added: “You had, right up until the start of the Second World War, real collaboration.”

Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, has said the case against him was not about historical facts but that his remarks showed a lack of awareness or concern for the Jewish community’s sensitivity on the matter. He accused Mr Livingstone of conduct that is “grossly detrimental to the Labour party.”

Jeremy Newmark, chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, said: “He just seems to be digging a deeper hole. At his own expulsion hearing he can’t show any sign of apology. We have been very clear that we feel there should be no future for Ken in the Labour party. He’s demonstrated constantly that he thinks it’s okay to sprinkle the language of Hitler around like political confetti.”

Mr Livingstone will find out if he has been expelled tonight. A judicial review would assess the lawfulness of the decision.