Respect party leader quits after George Galloway rape comments

Published on 12/09/2012 08:49

THE Leader of the Respect Party has blamed a breakdown of trust after she resigned following a rift with controversial MP George Galloway.

• Salma Yaqoob was highly critical of George Galloway after his comments about rape.

• Resignation comes as Galloway to be grilled by muslim women’s group over comments.

Salma Yaqoob had publicly clashed with the Dundee-born MP for Bradford West after he claimed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was merely guilty of “bad sexual etiquette”.

Mr Assange is facing rape allegations in Sweden.

Evidence of the rift became prominent recently after Ms Yaqoob had said Mr Galloway’s comments were “deeply disappointing and wrong”.

But in a statement on the party’s website today, Ms Yaqoob said: “It is with deep regret that I have decided to resign from Respect. The last few weeks have been extremely difficult for everyone in the party.

“I feel necessary relations of trust and collaborative working have unfortunately broken down. I have no wish to prolong those difficulties, and indeed hope that they may now be drawn to a close.”

The resignation comes as Galloway is today due to face questions from Bradford Muslim Women’s Council, a prominent group within the MP’s constituency who are also likely to question his recent use of the term “window licker” when arguing with a Rangers fan on Twitter.

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