Galloway targets pro-war Labour MPs

The anti-war Respect Party is to target Labour MPs in the East End at the next election after its first council victory today.

Former Labour MP George Galloway is set to challenge rising "Blair babe" Oona King and three other Labour MPs who backed the Iraq invasion.

The Left-wing party secured a breakthrough in Tower Hamlets where it seized St Dunstan's and Stepney Green ward, pushing Labour into third place. Union activist Oliur Rahman won with 878 votes, while the Liberal Democrats came second. Labour, which held the ward until yesterday, came third with 578 votes.

Labour councillor Kevin Morton described the result as "depressing" and accused Respect of feeding off community divisions. "It's as depressing as the BNP victory was in 1993 in terms of what it says about the polarised nature of Tower Hamlets," he said.

Mr Galloway, who was expelled from Labour over his outspoken criticism of Tony Blair and George Bush over the war, hailed the result as a breakthrough. "It is stunning for a party formed less than six months ago," he said. "This tiny by-election was treated like a general election by all the big parties which flooded the area with activists and we beat them." He confirmed he was "seriously considering" standing against Ms King, who is parliamentary aide to Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt and tipped for promotion in the next reshuffle.

Ms King voted for the war and is seen as a leading Blair Babe, the nickname given to the intake of women MPs strongly allied with the Prime Minister and New Labour. Other Labour MPs being targeted are former Sports Minister Tony Banks, whip Jim Fitzpatrick and Trade Minister Stephen Timms.

Respect is an alliance of old hard-Left organisations, Muslim groups and peace campaigners. It scored almost 13 per cent in the Leicester South by-electionbut had not won any until the Tower Hamlets result.

Meanwhile a fresh round of infighting between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown was threatened today after a union boss gave the Prime Minister a three-year deadline to leave Downing Street.

GMB union leader Kevin Curran, a supporter of the Chancellor, warned unions could break away from Labour and set up their own party unless the Government changed tack mid-way through a third term.

Mr Curran said that unions could field candidates in up to 300 seats if No 10 refused demands to renationalise the railways, restore the right to secondary strike action and raise the minimum wage. He said that unless the Government changed they would "have to look for a political partner that would advance the interests of people we represent". Mr Curran added: "It really is as simple as that.

The ultimatum was immediately interpreted by Mr Blair's supporters as a deadline for the Prime Minister to hand power to Mr Brown. One Blair ally retorted: "Gordon really needs to have a word with Kevin because he's going too far."

Mr Curran sparked the most recent row between the Blair and Brown camps this month after he called for the Prime Minister to be replaced.