Blair wants free speech in Baghdad but not UK, says Galloway

George Galloway delivered an impassioned critique of the Labour Party's decision to suspend him last night, claiming: "Mr Blair wants free speech in Baghdad, but not in Britain."

In the immediate aftermath of a Party decision which may bar him in the autumn from winning the Labour nomination for its safe parliamentary seat in Glasgow, he said: "I could walk away now from this. I am not made of stone. I have been wounded, I have been stabbed in the back today by a party I have served for 35 years. But that would be giving a victory to people who are here today and gone tomorrow and who care nothing for Labour values."

The crackdown on Mr Galloway threatens to deepen wounds over Labour's conduct of the war in Iraq, though the party may feel that Mr Galloway's personal attacks on the war will have marginalised him. He had to duck eggs at the weekend after he was pelted during a rally on Merseyside.

But Mr Galloway insisted he commanded popular support. He said: "I am a Labour man, I have all my life been a Labour man and want to remain a Labour man. Millions of Labour supporters agree with me and not Mr Blair, not just on the Iraq issue but on many issues."

Challenged on his decision to urge British troops not to fight and his condemnation of the war as illegal, he told the BBC's Newsnight: "I just keep repeating this is my honest belief and it is shared by millions of my countrymen and women and Labour voters. It is a view shared by the overwhelming majority of countries and leaders around the world."

However Eric Joyce, MP for Falkirk West and Blair loyalist, used the same programme to voice his support for the party's decision. "There has been a Scottish Parliamentary election in the last month during which George has spent his time sitting by his pool in Portugal, so it is hard to see how he can say that he has been doing his bit for his constituents and his party," he said.

Mr Galloway claimed the timing of the inquiry was designed to prevent him winning Glasgow Central and said it could prejudice his planned libel action against The Daily Telegraph, which he is suing over allegations that he gained up to £370,000 from the Iraqi regime.

Mr Galloway was given "formal notice" of his suspension, which took effect immediately and could lead to permanent expulsion or a written warning.

After receiving the letter, he said: "No less than three processes controlled by the Labour leadership have been unleashed against me on the same day. It is completely unjust. In fact it offends all principles of natural justice. I have embarked upon a considerable legal undertaking to prove in court the falseness of the allegations against me." Suspension after 35 years of membership was particularly hard to bear, he said, adding: "It is tantamount to political exile."

The Labour Party said it could not say how long Chris Lennie's investigation would take or whether it would affect Mr Galloway's chances of standing again for Labour at the next general election. If he remains suspended when the selections for the next election take place, he will be unable to represent the party in the new constituency of Glasgow Central.