CONTROVERSIAL UK MP GEORGE GALLOWAY; ISRAEL GAVE AL-QAEDA CHEMICAL WEAPON TO USE IN SYRIA

George Galloway has said if there were a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria earlier this week - the most likely culprit was not the regime of president Assad, but rather either the rebels or al-Qaeda using munitions supplied by Israel.

In an edited video clip from Iranian channel Press TV posted on YouTube, the Respect MP for Bradford West said: "If there's been any use of nerve gas it's the rebels that used it."

He adds: "If there has been a use of chemical weapons it was al-Qaeda that used the chemical weapons - who gave al-Qaeda the chemical weapons? Here's my theory, Israel gave them the chemical weapons."

Galloway's comments came amid international calls for United Nations inspectors to be given access to the site of a chemical weapon attack which is claimed to have left more than 1,300 people dead.

France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius said yesterday said the international community may have to use force if it is proven that Syria used chemical weapons in an attack the opposition says killed more than 100 people.

Unverified footage of casualties, including children, in makeshift hospitals suffering convulsions and breathing difficulties has circulated on YouTube.

Accounts of the death toll vary wildly from around 100 deaths to the claim by the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition group in exile, that 1,300 were killed. The group said it was basing its claim on accounts and photographs by activists on the ground.