Ken Livingstone

Ken Livingstone the Mayor of London has laughed off criticism from Channel Four's Dispatches programme that he drinks whiskey at council meetings.

When questioned at the news conference, Livingstone said he drank alcohol to ease a bronchial condition if he has to speak during long meetings. ``I pick up that tumbler of whiskey and it goes away,'' he said.

Livingstone told reporters, ``I don't think I've ever reached Winston Churchill's levels, and as it didn't impair him in the destruction of the greatest evil facing humanity, it won't interfere with my continuing to lead Londoners to the sunny uplands of the future.'' Churchill, British prime minister during World War II, was a heavy drinker, according to his biographers.

Good man Ken....I only hope its Irish Whiskey!