Mayor Ken Livingstone's refusal to apologise to an Evening Standard journalist he compared to a "concentration camp guard" has the backing of Londoners, according to new polls.

The Mayors office released polls which suggest roughly two thirds of the capitals residents believe Mr Livingstone has nothing to apologise for, and back his stance over his continual row with the Associated Newspapers group which owns the Evening Standard.

The Mayor was widely condemned for likening an Evening Standard reporter to a "concentration camp guard" after leaving a City Hall party celebrating gays and lesbians in London. He also called the Evening Standard a paper full "of scumbags and reactionary bigots".

Mr Livingstone later said he did not intend to cause offence to the Jewish community but had "no apology or expression of regret to the Daily Mail group".

Of the 10,000 residents who called BBC London's telephone poll, 66 percent supported the Mayor, with 34 percent believing he should apologise.

77 percent of almost 5,000 Guardian Online readers backed the Mayor, and of almost 2,000 letters received by City Hall, 76 percent were behind Mr Livingstone. The Times reported that emails they had been sent were two to one in favour of Ken Livingstone's position.

A spokesman for Mr Livingstone said: "All tests of public opinion in London are now showing support for the Mayor's stand in refusing to apologise to the Evening Standard."

However Prime Minster Tony Blair, senior Labour Party figures, and members of the London Assembly have urged Mr Livingstone to apologise.

The Standards Board for England, a local government watchdog, is investigating the incident after receiving complaints from the Board of Jewish Deputies and the Commission for Racial Equality.

Nicky Gavron, deputy Mayor of London, said: "The important thing for me is that the Mayor acknowledged the deeply felt concerns of Jewish people in London and has made clear that he did not intend his words to cause offence nor in any way to downplay the horror of the holocaust.

"This issue has been given a thorough airing and I think we should now draw a line under the incident and move on."