Positive iD for Galloway Pelter

Tim Heald, Commercial Director at London panels firm The iD Factor has admitted throwing a foam 'stress ball' at Respect MP George Galloway yesterday as he harangued the public through a megaphone on his open-top election bus. Heald spoke to police and was released with an official caution.

The ball was thrown from a window at the firm's Holborn office. A Respect party spokesman said Galloway, former Celebrity Big Brother contestant and MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, was briefly dazed when the ball struck him on the temple, after which he spent 20 minutes having treatment in an ambulance before returning to the 'battle bus' to resume his campaign for a seat on the London Assembly.

'There is a nasty bruise on the side of George's head', explained the Respect adviser. 'Because of the impact of the blow, he lost his balance and hit the other side of his head on the side of the bus.' Witnesses quoted in the Sun newspaper gave a slightly different slant, saying Galloway banged his head while ducking to avoid the ball.

An iD Factor colleague said that Galloway had been going past on his bus every day 'making a racket', and this may have prompted Heald's actions. Galloway, expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for 'bringing the party into disrepute' following a long campaign against the Iraq War, has navigated through many accusations of sleaze concerning his financial dealings, slammed US politicians in an appearance before accusers in the senate, won £150,000 in damages from the Daily Telegraph, and been ridiculed for appearing in a leotard and pretending to be a cat on Celebrity Big Brother. Unsurprisingly therefore, he says the latest incident will not deter him from campaigning. He is, however, consulting his lawyers to consider taking action against the iD Factor.

Heald, who joined the iD Factor a year ago, is son of Conservative Party pollster Gordon Heald, Chairman of the Opinion Research Business and former leader of Gallup. Tim Heald was unavailable for comment when DRNO attempted to contact him earlier.

The British tradition of registering distaste at the views or performance style of public speakers through the jettison of relatively harmless objects is well-established, recent examples including purple dye thrown at the front bench in the House of Commons in May 2004 and the egg targeted at then Deputy PM John Prescott in 2001. Galloway may consider himself fortunate to have been out of costume on this occasion and thereby avoided the customary bucket of water reserved for noisy felines.

Web sites are at www.theidfactor.com and www.georgegalloway.com - the latter invites viewers to 'Join George Galloway on the Respect election bus' and sets out the week's itinerary. Foam articles of - arguably - a more appropriate nature are on sale at www.allearplugs.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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