David Cameron accuses George Galloway of ‘playing to the gallery’ on return to Westminster

GEORGE Galloway should not “play to the gallery” over Afghanistan, Prime Minister David Cameron said this afternoon.

Mr Galloway returned to the Westminster parliament yesterday after being elected in the Bradford West by-election.

He asked a question at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

Mr Galloway said: “As I was saying Mr Speaker, there is an iron-clad consensus across the frontbenches about what they now call a ‘mission’, but given the amount of blood on the ground and rapidly deteriorating military situation most of us call a ‘war’ in Afghanistan.”

Mr Galloway branded the fighting “a bloody maw” and asked Mr Cameron to reconsider Britain’s position of withdrawing troops by the end of 2014, following Australian prime minister Julia Gillard’s accelerated timetable for pulling out Australian forces.

But Mr Cameron said: “I profoundly disagree with you.

“Our troops are in Afghanistan not fighting a war against Islam but at the invitation of an Islamic government and under a United Nations resolution to try and help that country have a peaceful, prosperous and stable future.

“You know the dangers in the past of walking away from Afghanistan and leaving that country to become the terrorist-supporting haven it did under the Taliban.

“We mustn’t make that mistake again and I would urge you not play to the gallery on this issue but to speak up for the work our forces are doing to make Afghanistan a safer country.”