Outrage as Galloway calls Assange rape claims 'bad sexual etiquette'

George Galloway has attracted criticism after suggesting that the rape allegations levelled against him by two women in Sweden "don't constitute rape," the New Statesman reports.

The Respect MP for Bradford made the comments in video podcast he hosts called 'Good night with George Galloway'.

ITV News' UK Editor Lucy Manning reports:

In the video, he contends that because both of the women who made the allegations agreed to have sex with him, they effectively entered into a "sex game" and could not withdraw their consent at a later point. He writes: "Not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion".

The comments occur around 22 minutes into the video.

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was granted refuge by the government of Ecuador last week after losing his case against a UK extradition warrant that would force him to face the rape allegations in Sweden.

Mr Assange, who is living in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, says the allegations are politically motivated and that the Swedish government intends to extradite him to the US.

In his video, Mr Galloway admits that he finds Julian Assange's sexual behaviour "sordid" and "disgusting" but says that the allegations against him amount to "bad sexual etiquette" and not rape.

The comments have attracted criticism on Twitter:

Mr Galloway has tweeted several ripostes, describing the criticism as a "liberal chorus" and suggesting that it plays into the hands of the "Empire" and the Pentagon".

The leader of the Respect party Salma Yaqoob tweeted that she had not yet heard Mr Galloway's comments because she is acting as a birth partner for her sister-in-law.

George Galloway has long courted controversy having been outspoken about Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving as a Labour MP. He was expelled from the party in 2003.

He won a surprise landslide victory in the Bradford West by-election in March.