Stop Iran broadcasting propaganda from Ealing

Here's how the presenter of an Islamist propaganda channel signed off his talk show last Sunday. "Mr President, thank you very much indeed for appearing on The Real Deal on Press TV. This is George Galloway from the presidential headquarters in Tehran with his excellency, Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

For this was Iran's English language TV network, and the maverick former MP normally speaks from its London bureau in Hanger Lane.

Galloway had just broached the subject of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43-year-old woman convicted of adultery. He avoided referring to her by name and any mention of her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, who has been forced to flee to Norway, leaving his wife and seven-year-old daughter behind.

"Every so often an issue comes along which is seized upon by the enemies of Iran and it becomes a heavy problem," he said. "One such is the punishment scheduled originally against a woman convicted of adultery — the so-called stoning case." So-called, as if they had actually planned to stone her with grapes.

Galloway then asked if Iran might take Brazil up on its offer of asylum to Ashtiani, which Tehran has already rejected. Ahmadinejad said: "We are keen to export our technology to Brazil rather than such people."

Galloway referred to last year's demonstrations in Iran as a "mini-political earthquake" — the dead and injured did not register too highly on his Richter scale — and allowed Ahmadinejad to play down Iran's "green" movement unchallenged.

In terms of impartiality, this interview was surely on a par with his stablemate Lauren Booth's coverage of the Israel Gaza flotilla killings, rapped earlier this month by Ofcom for its bias.

Instead, in an apparent effort to endear himself to Ahmadinejad, Galloway said: "I have police protection in London from the Iranian opposition because of my support for your election campaign — I mention this so you know where I'm coming from. They attacked me in the parliament building itself and two were arrested."

This was misinformation at best. The two people he referred to are myself and the popular Iranian blogger Potkin Azarmehr: on March 1 this year we were ejected from a Stop the War Coalition meeting in the House of Commons where Mr Galloway was speaking. Something he failed to tell the Iranian president but knows perfectly well is that we were there to protest at the very fact that Galloway works for Press TV, and we certainly didn't attack him. (Though we were arrested, we were soon released without charge.)

There is surely a case for stopping Press TV operating in the UK. At a time when much hysteria is whipped up about Islam, it makes no sense to debate measures such as banning burkas, penalising Muslims for being Muslims, yet not to act where we should — against political Islam.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is as pernicious a manifestation of Islamist intention as al Qaeda. We should no more tolerate its broadcaster in Ealing than we would the Taliban's in Hounslow.

Whatever next? Mr Galloway in Chris Tarrant's place on Who Wants To Kill An Infidel? or Simon Cowell's on Britain's Got Martyrs? It's time to shut it down.