The Mayor of London, no slouch when it comes to appeals to communalism and self-publicity, sticks the boot in to Gorgeous George in the Times:
He said that although he and Ms King were on opposite sides during the Iraq war debate he was supporting her because she worked “damn hard” for the people of East London.
He said: “You feel that behind all the rhetoric, it’s all about George, it’s always about George.” Mr Livingstone said that if Mr Galloway had wanted to make a stand over the war he should have stood against Tony Blair or Geoff Hoon instead of trying to oust one of Parliament’s few black women.
Maybe, but that would have required principles not political opportunism.
Harry adds: Marcus, I was trying to get through the whole day without having another Galloway post. You are like those friends who offer you a fag when you have given up smoking or cook you sticky toffee pudding when you are on a diet.
Update: But go on then, if we are going to discuss Galloway and Respect today lets have some more schadenfreude (enough of that Catholic talk -ed).
After the delicious scenes of Galloway denouncing “fundamentalism” on BBC London last night (yes, he is against those students who rough him up a bit but not those who murder Iraqi trade unionists) we now have him facing legal action from Hizb ut-Tahrir.
It is our belief that George Galloway knows very well that it was not members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir that were involved in the incident he mentioned and that he has orchestrated these fabrications in order to malign the Party which is strong in the Bethnal Green constituency, where he is hoping to secure his seat and political career.
This was confirmed when we spoke today to the Respect Party office. They readily admitted that another group was behind the attack and not the Hizb. Furthermore even the Respect Party followers in Tower Hamlets who contributed to yesterday’s brawl have all acknowledged that the opposing group was not the Hizb. So why the deliberate lies?
……A concerned member of the public spoke to the police earlier today and they also acknowledged that the Hizb was not involved in the incidents yesterday. The Respect Party is uncharacteristically quiet today, despite multiple attempts to contact them. We have contacted our legal team and they will be issuing legal proceedings against Mr Galloway today unless he makes a public apology for his statements.
Full statement from the Hizb here.
So if it wasn’t them who was it? And why do Respect want to blame Hizb?
Further Update:Now this is most definately a case of Kissinger’s “its a shame they can’t both lose”:
According to a statement circulated on the website of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, the Islamic fundamentalists of Hizb ut-Tahrir have started legal action against Galloway and the Evening Standard.