Galloway shows his respect for Cameron's rebranding of Tories

Published on Sunday 15 October 2006 00:44

WITH friends like this, who needs enemies, David Cameron must be asking, now that his leadership of the Tories has been given the seal of approval by George Galloway.

The Respect MP - perhaps best known for his toe-curlingly embarrassing performance on Big Brother when he dressed up as a cat and sucked milk from the hands of actress Rula Lenska - has described the Tory leader as "pretty impressive" and praised his attempts to renew the Conservatives. In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Galloway says: "Looked at objectively, I would have to say I can see his appeal. It will play - it is playing right now."

He adds: "He is doing and saying the right things. His job is to slay the ghost of Margaret Thatcher. The more [Norman] Tebbit and Co attack him, the better. That just demonstrates to the public there's something new about the Tories. I don't myself think there is anything new, but Cameron is at least providing the illusion of change."

Galloway spoke out as he publicised the Fidel Castro Handbook, his new book in honour of one of his biggest political heroes.

He has largely stayed out of the limelight since appearing on Big Brother last year, when he also donned a skintight red leotard and performed a robotic dance.

The MP admits that there are still certain parts of the show he cannot bring himself to watch. "I know that at times I was excruciating," he says. "I went in there fully intending to write an epic novel in my head about the Spanish Civil War. By the end I was falling out with Preston over ownership of a bun or with Michael [Barrymore] over bloody cigarettes... that's Big Brother, though: it gets everyone in the end."

Galloway also reveals he has still to hear from the US Senate Committee which accused him of taking part in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. "From the day I left the Senate 16 months ago, when I challenged them to 'put up or shut up', I've heard nothing from America, from anywhere," he says.

He also declares his support for the Scottish Parliament but considers that, so far, it has been a "disappointment".