Labour MP George Galloway has vowed to fight any attempt to throw him out of the party.

The anti-war MP, who has mounted a fierce personal attack on the prime minister, said he would "fight it every inch of the way".

Commenting on reports that he is set to lose the Labour whip, Galloway said: "Mr Blair would be making a big mistake if he did proceed down this road. As a Labour Party man with 35 years of membership - much longer than Mr Blair - I would fight it every inch of the way.

"I am not without support in the country, not least within the Muslim community, which feels virtually powerless and almost voiceless amidst this catastrophe in Iraq.

"And it would send the message that Mr Blair wants free speech in Baghdad but not in the British parliament."

It is predicted that the Labour Party will remove the whip from Galloway before formally moving to expel him altogether.

But the Glasgow Kelvin MP - who has close links to the Middle East - remained defiant.

"It would be control-freakery gone mad to say that in the heat of a war, embarked on in the teeth of opposition from millions of British people and in defiance of the United Nations, only 'licensed' and low-key opposition to the government line is to be permitted," he told PA News.

"This would make a mockery of the case that democracy is better than dictatorship."