Saddam was hanged in "deplorable" way: Brown

London, Jan 7: British finance minister Gordon Brown hascondemned the way Saddam Hussein was hanged as ''deplorable'' -- incontrast to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has so far stayed silent onthe execution. Brown, expected to take over as premier when Blair steps down thisyear, said: ''Now that we know the full picture of what happened, wecan sum this up as a deplorable set of events.''

A mobile phone videoshowed observers taunting Saddam with shouts of ''Go to hell'' andchanting the name of a Shi'ite cleric before the former Iraqi leaderfell through a gallows trapdoor.

The images provoked international criticism and further inflamedsectarian passions in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki haspledged to investigate the way the hanging was conducted.

Asked about the hanging when visiting a London hospital on Friday,Blair said: ''I've decided to talk about health today. I will talkabout all those other issues next week.'' Blair was on holiday at theMiami home of pop star Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees when the executiontook place.

U.S. President George W. Bush has said Saddam's hanging shouldhave been carried out in a ''more dignified way'' but argued that hereceived justice, unlike his victims.

Gordon Brown, laying out his stall as a future prime minister in a BBC TV interview to be broadcast today, said.

''Even those people, unlike me, who are in favour of capitalpunishment found this completely unacceptable. It has done nothing tolessen tensions between the Shia and Sunni communities.'' Brown flew toIraq in November to visit British troops stationed in the south of thecountry.

He faces a tough challenge stepping into Blair's shoes. The Labourgovernment has been undermined by the war in Iraq and is beset byscandals, while the opposition Conservatives have revived theirfortunes under youthful leader David Cameron.

Reuters

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