Livingstone likely to appeal against month-long ban

Ken Livingstone is expected to announce tomorrow his decision to appeal against his suspension.

The Mayor of London is being privately encouraged to "take on" the adjudication panel of the Standards Board for England after it ruled against him. He was banned from office for a month after comparing a Jewish reporter to a concentration camp guard.

The decision sparked widespread controversy, with many MPs echoing the Mayor's complaint that an unelected panel should not be able to remove representatives chosen democratically by voters.

Ministers disclosed yesterday that they plan to limit investigations by standards officers to complaints against public officials carrying out their duties.

Sir Anthony Holland, the board's chairman, said he would welcome changes to the way it polices the code of conduct for elected local representatives. He added that he was "glad" that the case had triggered debate about the board. He also pointed out that the board had been established by the democratically-elected Labour government.