The Labour candidate for Mayor of London, Mr Frank Dobson, last night challenged Mr Ken Livingstone to "make my day" by declaring whether he would stand as an independent against him.
It was the first face-to-face confrontation between the two men since Mr Dobson's victory in the selection battle. But, despite close questioning from the audience on BBC1's Question Time, as well as from the presenter, David Dimbleby, Mr Livingstone re fused to end the suspense over whether he would leave the Labour Party and run.
He repeated his call for Mr Dobson to step down as Labour candidate and allow him to run. "Londoners would rather you stood down, so the Labour Party members get the candidate they voted for, which is me," he said.
He did not deny that he was considering a possible bid for mayor as an independent.