Ken: I want to rejoin Labour Party

Ken Livingstone today blew Labour's campaign to find a London mayoral candidate wide open, by declaring he was ready to rejoin the party and enter the race for selection.

His surprise offer came as he said he would be "delighted" to participate in a "fair and democratic selection process". Such a move would mean Labour chiefs swallowing their pride and accepting his return to the party after the bitterness surrounding his departure in the run-up to the mayoral elections two years ago.

Labour has been making preparations to get its candidate in place by the autumn this year, giving some 18 months to prepare a challenge to Mr Livingstone, who was thought to be ready to stand again as an independent.

But the Left-winger said today that Labour members should get the chance to vote on whether they want him. However, he said he would not join a selection process that was "rigged" in the same way as last time which saw him beaten for the nomination by former health secretary Frank Dobson.

It is only a few weeks since talks about readmitting Mr Livingstone were thought to have broken down.

A Labour spokesman said: "We will not consider the matter until after the London borough elections in May."