Killing British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a suicide bombing would be morally justified as revenge for the war in Iraq, firebrand lawmaker George Galloway has said.
In a magazine interview that was widely reported on Friday, the MP for the anti-war party Respect was asked if it would be justifiable for a suicide bomber to blow up Blair provided there were no other casualties.
Galloway told GQ magazine: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it -- but if it happened it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of July 7."
He was referring to the London attacks last year, when four Islamic extremists killed 52 people and themselves by bombing the transport network.
"It would be entirely logical and explicable," the leftist lawmaker said.
"And morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq -- as Blair did."
His remarks immediately sparked a storm of protest.
MP Stephen Pound of the governing Labour Party, told The Sun newspaper: "These comments take my breath away. Galloway is disgraceful and truly twisted.
"Every time you think he can't sink any lower he goes and stuns you again. It's beyond reprehensible to say it would be justified for a suicide bomber to assassinate anyone."
{{/usCountry}}"Every time you think he can't sink any lower he goes and stuns you again. It's beyond reprehensible to say it would be justified for a suicide bomber to assassinate anyone."
{{/usCountry}}Galloway, who formerly belonged to Labour but now represents his own left-wing Respect party, is no stranger to controversy.
He joined Fidel Castro earlier this week on a television show designed to rebut claims that the Cuban president had amassed a large personal fortune.
Galloway compared his own struggle against allegations that he took money from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with Castro's battle against claims of secret wealth.