Galloway thrown out and suspended

The Respect MP was expelled by Speaker Michael Martin after angry clashes over a speech in which he denounced the Commons standards and privileges committee as hypocritical and unjust.

He was sharply criticised by the committee in the wake of an investigation by the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards, Sir Philip Mawer, into payments to an Iraq children's charity, the now-defunct Mariam Appeal.

The maverick anti-war MP had been speaking for more than an hour as he sought to defend himself against a motion to suspend him.

After repeated warnings from Mr Martin about attacking the integrity of committee members, Mr Galloway angrily protested: "Having told me you would protect me, we are now getting to the stage where you are going to have to throw me out of Parliament prematurely."

As he was ordered from the chamber, he shouted that he would continue his speech outside for anyone who wanted to hear it.

Opening the debate earlier, Mr Galloway protested: "Being lectured by the current House of Commons on the question of the funding of political campaigns is like being accused of having bad taste by Donald Trump, like being accused of slouching by the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

"This House stands in utter ill-repute on the question of the funding of political campaigns."

The move to suspend the former Labour MP came after the committee censured him for failing to register an interest and "excessive" use of taxpayer-funded facilities for the charity.

It said he should be heavily punished for concealing funding from Saddam Hussein's former regime and for unjustified attacks on the inquiry itself.