Ken Livingstone has refused to apologise to the Jewish reporter he compared to a concentration camp guard despite being unanimously censured by the London assembly.

The Capital's mayor was uniformly condemned by the 25-member assembly on Monday after standing firm in the face of widespread calls for him to say sorry.

Last week Livingstone made the remarks to the Evening Standard's Oliver Finegold, who he also likened to a "German war criminal".

But he insisted the comments were justified on the basis of the newspaper and its parent company's track record.

He said: "I could apologise but why should I say words I do not believe in my heart? Therefore I cannot. If that is something people find they cannot accept I am sorry but this is how I feel after nearly a quarter of a century of their behaviour and tactics. I cannot say to you words I do not believe in my heart.

"If I could say something to lessen the pain of what I said I would. In the comments I made it simply indicated the level of loathing and disgust for the racism they have perpetuated and the bigotry they have encouraged for over 100 years."

The mayor's office claims Finegold harassed and swore at him after a party at City Hall to celebrate the 20th anniversary of MP Chris Smith coming out as gay.

But assembly members lined up to criticise Livingstone, who has also been referred to the Committee on Standards in Public Life by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Censure

Although the assembly censure has little real impact, the committee is set to refer the case to the local government watchdog, the Standards Board for England, which has the power to suspend the mayor from office for up to five years.

Labour deputy mayor and assembly member Nicky Gavron said: "These were inappropriate words and very offensive, both to the individual and to Jews in London.

"I know that the mayor uses Hitler, the war and the Holocaust as a moral reference point for history.

"I do not think in my view there are any circumstances which justify inappropriate reference to the Holocaust and that is why the Labour group is joining with everyone here in this motion asking the mayor to apologise."

The Green Party's Darren Johnson added that: "As a gay man I am deeply offended by the mayor's justification that he was defending the lesbian and gay community. We do not need defending in this way."

And Conservative assembly chairman Brian Coleman said: "All we are asking is that the mayor of this great city of ours apologise to the Evening Standard reporter.

"We would suggest he deserves an apology, the Jewish community deserves an apology but most of all Londoners deserve an apology."

On Sunday culture secretary Tessa Jowell added her voice to the calls for an apology.

"I don't believe he has a racist or an anti-Semitic bone in his body - look at his political record," she told GMTV.

"Sometimes he has a filthy temper and I think he lost his temper because he was door-stepped in an aggressive way.

"I think it is always a good idea that if you lose your temper it is good to apologise for losing your temper."