Man admits he attacked British MP Galloway
Neil Masterson, 39, confesses to assaulting anti-Israel lawmaker, but disputes claim it was religiously motivated
A man admitted Monday attacking firebrand left-wing lawmaker George Galloway on a London street, but denied it was a religiously aggravated assault and so will face trial.
Neil Masterson, 39, was remanded in custody at Isleworth Crown Court in London and will stand trial on November 10.
Masterson, a full-time caregiver who used to work as a manager at the BBC and for the Department for Work and Pensions, admitted assaulting Galloway on August 29 by beating him, but denied the charge of religiously aggravated common assault.
Masterson had been accused of attacking Galloway for being anti-Semitic.
“He said he carried out the attack because he felt the victim was an enemy of Judaism,” prosecutor Tom Gill said at a September 1 hearing.
Masterson also admitted assaulting another man, Mostafa Maroof, on the same date.
Galloway, the Respect Party lawmaker for Bradford West in northern England, needed an overnight stay in hospital. The pro-Palestinian Scotland-born politician was said to have suffered bruising and swelling to his face.
The outspoken Galloway was questioned by British police earlier in August after declaring Bradford an “Israel-free zone.”