Outspoken MP George Galloway has been sacked by a magazine over his comments on rape.
The politician said a rape allegation against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was no more than bad "sexual etiquette". The alleged victim had already had sex with Assange and claims she was asleep during another interaction.
Mr Galloway was a columnist for Holyrood political magazine and in the wake of his comments, made in a video posted on his website, the publication announced that it was ceasing its employment of him.
Holyrood editor Mandy Rhodes said in a statement: "George Galloway is no longer a columnist for Holyrood magazine and the reasons for that, I would have thought, are fairly obvious. Galloway has always courted controversy and while I have not always agreed with some of his views, I have admired him for staying true to his original political beliefs and particularly for his stance over Iraq.
"I had always felt that in an increasingly bland and corporate political world, he added some colour and was often an effective thorn in the side of the establishment. If nothing else, he provoked debate which is healthy. However, his recent outpourings about definitions of rape have left me, frankly gobsmacked.
"There is no excuse, ever, for sex without consent and regardless of the details of the Assange case, Galloway’s comments and inappropriate language about rape per se are alarming. I had hoped he might have taken the last 24 hours to reflect on his judgement and perhaps make some kind of public apology but that has not been apparent, far from it. So, it is with some very genuine regret that I have asked him to no longer write his column for the magazine."
The Respect Party member is currently in Indonesia, but he released a statement on his website seeking to clarify the comments he had made.
He said: "No never means yes and non-consensual sex is rape. There's no doubt about it and that has always been my position."
