Galloway calls for Aziz to be freed

Anti-war MP George Galloway came under fire today for calling for the release of Saddam Hussein's foreign minister Tariq Aziz.

Labour rounded on Mr Galloway when it emerged that he had told Al-Jazeera TV that Mr Aziz was a "political prisoner".

Mr Galloway, standing for Bethnal Green and Bow in the general election, told the Arabic station that Mr Aziz was an "eminent diplomatic and intellectual person" being held illegally in a Baghdad prison.

His Labour opponent Oona King today said: "Tariq Aziz was henchman of Saddam Hussein, implicated in some terrible crimes, including the gassing of Kurds at Halabja.

"Mr Galloway regards him as a diplomat and an intellectual. That says everything you need to know about Mr Galloway."

Mr Galloway dismissed her criticism as "pathetic" and said a wide range of distinguished figures had backed calls for Aziz's release.

An Iraqi tribunal has implicated Aziz in the 1988 gas attack. Human rights group Indict has also claimed he shot people at close range.

On Al-Jazeera, Mr Galloway backed an international petition calling for Aziz's release.

"Mr Tariq Aziz and thousands of political prisoners are still held illegally as hostages by the occupation authorities," he said. "He is viewed with high esteem worldwide by ... international figures who have valued his counsel, met him, discussed and negotiated with him."

Mr Galloway told the Standard: "Tariq Aziz is being held without trial by an appropriate judicial authority."

The row erupted as Labour also accused Mr Galloway of sharing a platform with an extremist Islamic group that supports suicide bombers.

Ms King hit out when it emerged that Mr Galloway would be speaking at a debate on Muslims and politics featuring the head of Hizb-Ut-Tahrir in Britain, Jalaluddin Patel.

Ms King pulled out of the meeting when she learned that the group would be represented. But Mr Galloway said he and others would be attending the debate in order to argue against the extremist group's ideas. Others attending the meeting this Saturday are the Muslim Council of Britain's Iqbal Sacranie, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray and Tory candidate Shahagir Bakth Faruk.

Hizb-Ut-Tahrir is not an illegal group but has been banned from university campuses across the country for supporting violence and anti-Semitism.

Mr Galloway's anti- war Respect party launches its manifesto today with policies that included a clampdown on corporate profits.