Ken Livingstone MP has written to the Labour's general secretary to protest about an alleged dossier compiled on him by party officials.

Ken Livingstone speaking to Sue MacGregor on the 'Today' programme

The dossier is said to contain past speeches and statements made by Mr Livingstone.

"That this should come out just after we've been pushed into third place in a by-election, it seems frankly that some Labour officials are wasting their time," Mr Livingstone said.

Labour general secretary Margaret McDonagh: Received letter of complaint from Livingstone

He added he presumed the intention in creating a dossier would be to use its contents against him in the London mayor election campaign, by those in the party who oppose his candidacy.

"The officials should be staying neutral," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"The other thing that worries me is that it creates a sort of climate of semi-hysteria amongst some junior officials that they've got to stop me.

"You wonder when you're getting these dossiers being circulated, you then move on to dirty tricks in the old classic Nixon fashion and that's my worry."

Mr Livingstone said he had not seen any such dossier himself, but had no doubt it existed after weekend reports.

"The Sunday Telegraph reporter read over large chunks to me," he said. "It just seems to me this is so silly - we should be using the money the Labour party's got to be fighting the Tories and the Lib Dems."

But Joan Ryan, secretary of London's Labour MPs, dismissed the fears of those who believe the party is mounting an all-out campaign to block Mr Livingstone.

Ken Livingstone was the former leader of the Greater London Council

"Frankly, I think people are getting a bit fed up with this conspiracy notion.

"The idea that there's some concerted and organised conspiracy where the whole of the Labour Party and its resources are thrown into stopping Ken is absolute nonsense.

"I don't think it's acceptable to be continually throwing mud at our officials like this when there's no evidence."

She added that such a document as quoted in The Sunday Telegraph could easily be put together by anyone and no-one had yet proved its existence.

The latest twist in the Ken Livingstone saga comes after he promised to stage a write-in campaign if Labour barred him from standing as an official candidate in the London mayor election next year.