George Galloway Attacker Jailed For 16 Months

A drug addict who attacked George Galloway in a London street, branding him an "anti-Semite little man", has been jailed for 16 months.

Neil Masterson left the MP, a pro-Palestinian, with cuts and bruises to the head and ribs after the assault.

When the 39-year-old was arrested, he was wearing an Israeli Defence Forces shirt, and told police he felt "morally justified" in attacking Mr Galloway because he was a "Nazi" with a "shameful" attitude.

The pair met by chance last August, and the politician believes he could have died if Masterson, who used to work for the Department of Work and Pensions and the BBC, was armed.

Isleworth Crown Court heard how Masterson, a functioning heroin addict, admitted saying "I f****** despise you" to Mr Galloway during the attack, as well as describing him as "a morally and intellectually bankrupt person".

The 39-year-old punched the Respect MP about 10 times, and his attempt at a "Kung Fu style" kick caused the 60-year-old to fall into the road.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Galloway said how the assault, which left him needing hospital treatment, had left his wife and children "in a constant state of worry".

"I no longer go anywhere alone. I now need to have someone with me while working," he wrote.

Mr Galloway described Masterson's sentence as "reasonable", adding: "Had the charge of religiously aggravated assault not been dropped, I'm sure it would have been considerably longer.

"If an Asian man wearing a Palestinian T-shirt had attacked a pro-Israeli MP, would the sentence have been the same?"

According to Masterson's defence barrister, he "realises now that there is no excuse for violence".