George Galloway has won his bitter battle to become MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.

Standing for his new Respect Party, the former Labour Glasgow MP, won in east London by less than 1,000 votes after a high profile and personal contest.

He defeated Labour's Oona King on an anti-war platform in a constituency with one of the country's highest ethnic minority populations.

Galloway overturned King's 10,057 majority to keep a seat in parliament, where he will now sit as Respect's first MP.

The campaign was marred by bitter rows over the war in Iraq, as well as disputes over alleged vote rigging and slander.

Respect also finished second in the two nearby Newham seats, East and West Ham in what they will consider a major breakthrough.

Galloway said "in east London a new political force has been born" and that the defeat did not belong to King but "Tony Blair".

He also called for the resignation of the returning officer for presiding over a postal vote system that "would disgrace a banana republic".