'It's irrational and idiotic' – Galloway in vow to fight Canada ban

GEORGE Galloway, the controversial anti-war MP, last night vowed to fight a ban on entering Canada on national security grounds.

Mr Galloway, 54, the Respect MP and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, said he was not prepared to accept the "outrageous decision" and would seek a judicial review.

He had planned to visit Toronto later this month on a speaking tour of North America but was refused permission to enter Canada by its border security service.

The ban is believed to relate to Mr Galloway's views on Afghanistan, where Canadian soldiers are part of the international force fighting the Taleban, and his support of militant Islamist organisations Hamas, which governs the Gaza strip, and Hezbollah, the main fundamentalist group in Lebanon.

Meir Weinstein, of the Jewish Defence League in Canada, said Mr Galloway was a "proxy agent" for Hamas and Hezbollah.

A Canadian government spokesman said the MP's views were "infandous" – or odious.

Mr Galloway, a Labour MP for Glasgow for 16 years before being expelled from the party in 2003 due to his opposition to the Iraq war, described the "idiotic" decision as "irrational, inexplicable and an affront to Canada's good name".

He said his contact with Hamas was to provide aid, while noting that Tony Blair had met Hezbollah leaders earlier this week.

Mr Galloway said: "This is a very sad day for the Canada we have known and loved – a bastion of the freedoms that supporters of the occupation of Afghanistan claim to be defending. This has further vindicated the anti-war movement's contention that unjust wars abroad will end up consuming the very liberties that make us who we are."

He suspected the move was a "rather desperate election ploy" by a conservative government "reaching the end of the line".

Mr Galloway added: "All right-thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision.

"For a Scotsman to be barred from Canada is like being told to stay away from the family home. This is not something I'm prepared to accept."

Mr Galloway had been due to speak in Toronto on 30 March at a public forum entitled Resisting war from Gaza to Kandahar, hosted by Toronto Coalition to Stop the War. But his proposed visit prompted the Jewish Defence League of Canada to write an open letter to the Canadian government urging it to do "everything possible to keep this hater away".

A spokesman for Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney said Mr Galloway was "legally inadmissable" to Canada and would be turned away at its border if he tried to enter the country. The spokesman said the decision had been taken by border security officials. Their ruling could be overruled by the government, but Mr Galloway failed to qualify for a "ministerial permit" to enter the country.

"We're going to uphold the law, not give special treatment to an infandous street-corner Cromwell who actually brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada,'' he said.

''I'm sure Galloway has a large Rolodex of friends in regimes elsewhere in the world willing to roll out the red carpet for him. Canada won't be one of them."


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