Outspoken MP George Galloway has left hospital with severe bruising after he was punched repeatedly in the face and called 'Hitler' in a west London street attack, says spokesman.

The Respect MP for Bradford West was posing for pictures in Notting Hill when he was 'leapt on' and assaulted last night by a man yelling comments about the Holocaust.

He has been receiving death threats and hate mail after calling for Bradford to be 'declared an Israel-free zone' three weeks ago, according to his spokesman.

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MP George Galloway was taken to hospital for a suspected broken jaw after being attacked

The Respect Party tweeted this along with the picture of a battered and bruised George Galloway at 2am

He said: 'George was posing for pictures with people and this guy just attacked him, leapt on him and started punching him and calling him Hitler.

'It appears to be connected with his comments about Israel because the guy was shouting about the Holocaust.

'He has been receiving a huge amount of death threats and hate mail since saying this.'

Police arrested a 39-year-old man on suspicion of assault and he remains in police custody.

The spokesman did not know whether the attacker was an Israeli, an EDL-supporter or had some other motivation for attacking the Bradford West MP.

They said Mr Galloway had described himself as being 'in a pretty bad shape'.

The MP had been posing for pictures with residents in Notting Hill, west London, when the attack took place

The incident took place on Golborne Road, Notting Hill, when Mr Galloway was posing for photos

The Respect MP was interviewed earlier this month by West Yorkshire Police following a speech in Leeds, in which he claimed that Bradford was an Israel-free area.

Mr Galloway, who campaigns in support of Palestine, made the comments at a meeting in Leeds. A clip was later posted on the video-sharing website YouTube.

He told the meeting: 'We have declared Bradford an Israel-free zone. We don't want any Israeli goods; we don't want any Israeli services; we don't want any Israeli academics coming to the university or the college. We don't even want any Israeli tourists to come to Bradford even if any of them had thought of doing so.

'We reject this illegal, barbarous, savage state that calls itself Israel – and you have to do the same.'

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said police were called to the scene of Mr Galloway's attack at around 7.40pm.

'Officers attended the scene. The suspect, a 39-year-old man, was found a short time later and stopped by police.

'He was arrested on suspicion of assault (ABH) and taken to a south London police station and subsequently transferred to a west London police station.

'The victim of the assault was taken to a central London hospital for treatment to his injuries.

He was discharged from hospital this morning, The 39-year-old man remains in police custody.'

Mr Galloway, who campaigns in support of Palestine, was attacked after the assailant made a comment about the Holocaust, his spokesman said

GEORGE GALLOWAY: THE MP'S CONTROVERSIAL POLITICAL CAREER George Galloway, 60, has attracted intense controversy since the early years of his political career. He was first elected as a Labour Party MP in 1987 representing Glasgow Hillhead. But he faced an almost immediate scandal that earned him the nickname 'Gorgeous George'. When asked about a conference in Mykonos, he replied: 'I travelled and spent lots of time with people in Greece, many of whom were women, some of whom were known carnally to me. I actually had sexual intercourse with some of the people in Greece.' This placed him on all the front pages and the executive committee of his local party passed a vote of no confidence in him in February 1988. In 1994 he was vilified after meeting Saddam and being shown on television telling the Iraqi leader: 'Sir, I salute your courage, your strength and your indefatigability.' He attracted more favourable headlines in 1998 when he set up the Mariam Appeal to fly young Iraqi leukaemia sufferer Mariam Hamza to Britain for treatment. But he was expelled from the Labour Party in October 2003 in the wake of his outspoken comments on the Iraq war. Labour chairman Ian McCartney said he, 'incited foreign forces to rise up against British troops'. In December 2004, Mr Galloway was awarded £150,000 in libel damages from the Daily Telegraph over articles published in April 2003 claiming he had received money from Saddam Hussein's regime. He became a leading member of Respect Party in 2004 and was elected as the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow at the general election the following year. At the start of 2006, Mr Galloway's appearance on reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother introduced him to a whole new generation. Not many can forget the sight of him licking milk out of the lap of actress Rula Lenska pretending to be a cat during the show, but many would like to. In 2008, Mr Galloway was pelted with a rubber stress ball as he was campaigning on an open-top bus in London. The firebrand politician received medical treatment but was not taken to hospital. He unsuccessfully contested the seat of Poplar and Limehouse in 2010, but returned as a Westminster MP following the Bradford West by-election in March 2012. Galloway won with a 10,140 majority, claiming 'the most sensational victory in British political history'. He shocked an Oxford University audience by refusing to debate with an opponent because he was Israeli in February 2013. Advertisement

A man, aged in his fifties, was stabbed and killed a few streets away from where George Galloway was assaulted on the same night.

Police were called to Portobello Road, Notting Hill, at 11.49 last night, just a few hours after the outspoken MP was attacked.

The man was treated by London Ambulance Service, but died at the scene an hour later.

A murder investigation has been launched and a post-mortem will be held in due course.

Police believe they know the identity of the deceased, but are awaiting formal identification.

Officers from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation into the murder and there have not been any arrests.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation should call the incident room on 020 8785 8963. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Bradford West is the fourth constituency to have Mr Galloway for its MP. The politician was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 over his stance on Iraq, but made a comeback with the Respect Party at the 2005 general election in Bethnal Green and Bow.

Police on the scene at the fatal stabbing in Portobello Road, Notting Hill, where a man in his fifties was killed