02/01/2007
Prescott condemns 'deplorable' Saddam death footage
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has said that the circumstances of Saddam Hussein's execution were "deplorable".
Mr Prescott's comments, made on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, followed the release of video footage which showed Saddam exchanging taunts and insults with witnesses attending the execution.
The footage, believed to have been taken with a mobile phone, also showed the moment when the trapdoor of the gallows opened and the former Iraqi leader was hanged.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Prescott said that they way the execution was conducted was "quite deplorable, really". He said: "Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out is totally unacceptable and I think whoever is involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves."
The Iraq government has now launched an investigation into Saturday’s execution.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been criticised for not making a statement on the execution. Mr Blair is currently on holiday in Florida.
Downing Street said that Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett's statement on Saddam's death, issued at the weekend, was on behalf of the whole government.
The Foreign Secretary said that Saddam had been "held to account" but stressed that the government did not support the use of the death penalty and advocated the end of its use worldwide.
(KMcA)
Mr Prescott's comments, made on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, followed the release of video footage which showed Saddam exchanging taunts and insults with witnesses attending the execution.
The footage, believed to have been taken with a mobile phone, also showed the moment when the trapdoor of the gallows opened and the former Iraqi leader was hanged.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Prescott said that they way the execution was conducted was "quite deplorable, really". He said: "Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out is totally unacceptable and I think whoever is involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves."
The Iraq government has now launched an investigation into Saturday’s execution.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been criticised for not making a statement on the execution. Mr Blair is currently on holiday in Florida.
Downing Street said that Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett's statement on Saddam's death, issued at the weekend, was on behalf of the whole government.
The Foreign Secretary said that Saddam had been "held to account" but stressed that the government did not support the use of the death penalty and advocated the end of its use worldwide.
(KMcA)
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