George Galloway threatens to sue Twitter over 'Russian affiliated media' label

Each of Mr Galloway’s tweets are now branded with that label, but he insisted he works "for no Russian media".

The outspoken 67-year-old, who was the MP for Bradford West between 2012 and 2015, has presented Sputnik: Orbiting the world with George Galloway with his wife Gayatri on the Russian network RT since 2013.

Ofcom revoked the broadcaster’s licence to operate in the UK following the invasion of Ukraine, stating: “RT is funded by the Russian state, which has recently invaded a neighbouring sovereign country”.

On Twitter, he wrote: “It’s Kafkaesque really. When I did present on Russian state media I had no Twitter designation. Now that I don’t can’t and would be committing a crime if I did I have been given the designation.”

He added: “I am not ‘Russian State Affiliated media’. I work for no Russian media. I have 400,000 followers. I’m the leader of a British political party and spent nearly 30 years in the British parliament. If you do not remove this designation I will take legal action.”

An episode of Mr Galloway’s show, titled ‘Ruble rebounds and US regime change denials’, was published on RT’s website five days ago.

On the day of Russia’s invasion, he posted a statement which said “this is not what I wanted to see in Ukraine”.

He then added: “Pumping Ukraine full of Nato weapons, mercenaries and propaganda was a grave mistake (and Russia inherits a billion dollars worth of weaponry). What was intended as a demonstration of Nato strength has ended with proof of its weakness.”

Mr Galloway, who was expelled from Labour in 2003, stood in last year’s Batley and Spen by-election as a candidate for his Workers Party of Britain, but finished third.

When Labour's Kim Leadbeater won, with a narrow majority of just 323 votes, he threatened to take legal action and challenge the result in the courts.