Man Charged over Attack on British MP George Galloway

British police on Saturday charged a 39-year-old man with a religiously motivated assault on firebrand left-wing lawmaker George Galloway on a west London street.

Neil Masterson, 39, of Camden Hill, London, was charged with "assault by beating which is religiously aggravated on a male in his 60s and also common assault on a male in his 40s".

The second charge is believed to relate to a bystander who tried to intervene.

The Respect Party MP for Bradford West suffered bruising to the face and possibly a broken rib in the attack as he posed for pictures with people near Notting Hill.

Galloway had described himself as being in "pretty bad shape" following the attack.

The outspoken Galloway was questioned by British police earlier this month after declaring the West Yorkshire city of Bradford an "Israel-free zone" on August 2.

Masterson will appear before Hammersmith Magistrates' Court on Monday, according to Scotland Yard.