George Galloway missed his regular show on talkSPORT this weekend after being involved in scuffles with police at a pro-Palestinian rally hours before his show was due to air on the network on Saturday night.
The Respect MP was replaced by Ian Collins for the evening and despite the Daily Mail doing its best to fan the flames of controversy with suggestions that the broadcaster’s job might be in jeopardy, talkSPORT was quick to assure its listeners that normal service would be resumed as quickly as possible.
In a statement a talkSPORT spokesman said: "On Saturday evening talkSPORT took the editorial decision to run a rolling news service in order to report the situation that was developing in the Middle East rather than proceed with the scheduled George Galloway show. This was not the first time we have discarded the schedule in order to provide a rolling news service. Previous occasions have included 9/11, 7/7 and the Russian school siege.
"With regards to George Galloway, he was not axed, suspended or gagged from expressing his views. Anyone who listens to George on a regular basis will know that he discusses the Israeli – Palestine conflict on a regular basis and he makes no secret of his pro-Palestine stance. George will be back on air this Friday in his usual 10pm slot and I'm sure that events in the Middle East will be high on his agenda."
