George Galloway thrown out of Egypt
George Galloway has been bundled into a police van and thrown out of Egypt two days after a policeman was killed during clashes involving his mission to deliver aid to Gaza.
Senior Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (R) greets George Galloway (L) during a rally honouring international peace activists in Gaza City Photo: EPA
The MP for Bow and Bethnal Green and an aide were detained by security guards as soon as they stepped on to Egyptian soil.
They were taken to Cairo airport and escorted on to flight to London at the end of journey marked by violent clashes and angry confrontations.
An Egyptian soldier was killed on Wednesday as they traded gunfire with Palestinians waiting for Mr Galloway's aid convoy to arrive.
A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Mr Galloway had been declared "persona non grata" and would not be allowed to enter the country again.
He had just returned from Gaza where the Viva Palestina convoy had arrived two days earlier with more than 100 trucks carrying aid.
Mr Galloway had repeatedly accused Egypt of blocking deliveries of aid by sealing the border, while the Egyptian authorities said the convoy had deliberately ignored travel restrictions.
"It's always a badge of honour to be deported by a tin-pot dictatorship and that's what happened," he said after arriving back in the UK.
Ron McKay, who was also deported, said the pair were surrounded by 12 plain-clothes officers as they stepped from the crossing.
"None of them spoke English," he said by telephone after arriving back in the UK. "They physically bundled us in to a panelled, white van. They didn't produce any identification. There wasn't any marking on the van or the two vehicles ahead of us so for a few minutes we thought we were being kidnapped."
It was not until they were boarding a British Airways flight that an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the pair they were being deported.
It brought an end to a troubled week for the mission after dozens of activists were hurt earlier in the week as they fought with security forces.
Police used water cannon to end the protesters' occupation of Arish harbour, where they had arrived in Egypt, as they waited for permission to proceed.
Witnesses said security forces threw stones and police used water cannon to end an occupation of Arish harbour, where the convoy was waiting for permission to proceed to Gaza.
George Galloway has been bundled into a police van and thrown out of Egypt two days after a policeman was killed during clashes involving his mission to deliver aid to Gaza.
Senior Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (R) greets George Galloway (L) during a rally honouring international peace activists in Gaza City Photo: EPA The MP for Bow and Bethnal Green and an aide were detained by security guards as soon as they stepped on to Egyptian soil.
They were taken to Cairo airport and escorted on to flight to London at the end of journey marked by violent clashes and angry confrontations.
Egypt deports Galloway
An Egyptian soldier was killed on Wednesday as they traded gunfire with Palestinians waiting for Mr Galloway's aid convoy to arrive.
A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Mr Galloway had been declared "persona non grata" and would not be allowed to enter the country again.
He had just returned from Gaza where the Viva Palestina convoy had arrived two days earlier with more than 100 trucks carrying aid.
Mr Galloway had repeatedly accused Egypt of blocking deliveries of aid by sealing the border, while the Egyptian authorities said the convoy had deliberately ignored travel restrictions.
"It's always a badge of honour to be deported by a tin-pot dictatorship and that's what happened," he said after arriving back in the UK.
Ron McKay, who was also deported, said the pair were surrounded by 12 plain-clothes officers as they stepped from the crossing.
"None of them spoke English," he said by telephone after arriving back in the UK. "They physically bundled us in to a panelled, white van. They didn't produce any identification. There wasn't any marking on the van or the two vehicles ahead of us so for a few minutes we thought we were being kidnapped."
It was not until they were boarding a British Airways flight that an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the pair they were being deported.
It brought an end to a troubled week for the mission after dozens of activists were hurt earlier in the week as they fought with security forces.
Police used water cannon to end the protesters' occupation of Arish harbour, where they had arrived in Egypt, as they waited for permission to proceed.
Witnesses said security forces threw stones and police used water cannon to end an occupation of Arish harbour, where the convoy was waiting for permission to proceed to Gaza.
