'Dirty tricks campaign': George Galloway accuses senior counter-terrorism officer of entering home without his knowledge and sending fake emails from his computer

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Scotland Yard has placed a senior counter-terrorism officer on restricted duties following extraordinary allegations from the MP George Galloway that he entered his home without his knowledge and sent fake emails as part of a “dirty tricks” campaign.

The Respect MP today outlined his claims against the policeman, who is understood to be a detective inspector, in a Parliamentary motion detailing how the officer allegedly slept in his home and co-ordinated his “operation” from his Metropolitan Police email account.

The Yard said last night that it had voluntarily referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and placed limits on the duties that the officer is permitted to carry out.

In his Early Day Motion, the Bradford West MP, who won a shock by-election victory against Labour earlier this year, claimed that “the officer entered [Mr Galloway’s] London home without his knowledge or consent, [Mr Galloway] never having met or heard of him, and he slept in [Mr Galloway’s] home”.

The MP accused the officer, who is of Asian background, of sending emails to his agent and using at two fake email accounts to dupe organisations, including a national newspaper, about his identity.

Calling on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to make an urgent statement, Mr Galloway added: “He operated under an alias against [me] on Facebook and elsewhere, all the while concealing that he was a senior serving officer at Scotland Yard.”

The Yard confirmed that it received a complaint on the MP’s behalf earlier this week. A spokesman said: “The matter has been passed to the directorate of professional standards to investigate and a voluntary referral is being made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The officer has been placed on restricted duties pending the outcome of the investigation.”