The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will not be attending a July 7 remembrance ceremony in the city after being shunned by the Bishop of Edmonton, who described him as 'not a unifying figure'.

The Right Reverend Peter Wheatley, whose diocese covers most of the borough of Barnet, did not invite Mr Livingstone to the service at St Pancras Church tomorrow afternoon due to his controversial remarks to a Jewish reporter and subsequent outbursts which have been perceived as anti-Semitic. The decision was made by the event's organising committee, which includes the bishop, the Camden Faith Communities Network, West London Synagogue and Camden Council.

"The point was made strongly yesterday at a meeting of the committee that the Mayor of London is not a unifying figure on such an occasion," the bishop wrote, in a letter seen by this newspaper.

The event will instead be attended by Brian Coleman, Barnet's London Assembly member, in his capacity as chairman of the assembly.

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of London added: "The Bishop's letter reported what was said at a meeting of representatives of all the major faiths. At the time it was written, there had been considerable media coverage concerning Mr Livingstone's remarks to a Jewish reporter and his subsequent refusal to apologise for making them.

"The Bishop was alluding to this matter and making the point that this was to be an event at which many Jewish people would be present."

Mr Coleman, to whom the Bishop of Edmonton's letter was addressed, said that the Mayor's remarks had offended much of the Jewish community. "He Mr Livingstone talks a lot about communities, but he only seems to apply this to certain communities," he said.

A spokeswoman for Camden Council said the view that Mr Livingstone was not a unifying figure was not held by the authority, and that the ceremony was supposed to be low-key.

Mr Livingstone was unavailable for comment.