Critics said the mayor had made a "humiliating U-turn"

Tory opponents of Ken Livingstone said he had "ended up looking foolish".

But he insisted he would grant all but one of the nominations from the London Assembly Conservatives and Lib Dems only until the end of August.

He said he would give them until then to explain their diversity policies before possibly taking legal action.

The mayor has to appoint all 17 members of the authority, nine of whom must be London Assembly members.

Fair and transparent

The remaining eight must be councillors nominated by London boroughs and the umbrella organisation London Councils.

The mayor said he had received legal advice that there were strong grounds for concern about whether the council nominations were carried out in a "fair and transparent way".

"It appears that the nominations from London Councils to the Fire Authority are not being made in a fair and transparent way that gives new councillors a proper opportunity to apply and be considered fairly, and that would be against the law," said Mr Livingstone.

Endless time and effort has been spent on this needless diversion Brian Coleman, London Assembly Conservatives

He added: "There are eighty black and Asian Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors in London - the argument that none are qualified to serve on the Fire Authority has no credibility."

But Mike Tuffrey, London Assembly member for the Lib Dems said: "I would urge the mayor to look at his own appointments.

"He will see that the proportions are of the same order, so it seems to me there's a lot that everybody needs to do on this score, not just his political opponents."

The Conservatives said Mr Livingstone had made a "humiliating U-turn".

Brian Coleman from the London Assembly Conservatives said: "The Mayor has been playing gesture politics and has ended up looking foolish.

"Endless time and effort has been spent on this needless diversion."

London Councils chairman Councillor Merrick Cockell said he was delighted Mr Livingstone had "reversed his position".