"What Muntadar al-Zeidi did at that press conference was not the normal action of a journalist covering a prestigious meeting of respected world leaders. With blood on his hands, George W Bush is no respected world leader."

Chris Morley NUJ Northern Organiser in relation to Muntadar al-Zeidi's protest against George Bush.

"Against this background Muntadar acted on impulse and in doing so attracted the sympathy of much of the world for his actions - a symbolic gesture of distaste at US policy. He spoke in the most graphic terms for so many in his country who have been so badly abused by George Bush and his rotten administration.

"He himself had been the victim of physical abuse while being held by the authorities in Iraq - as have so many fellow journalists there trying to do their work in the face of huge hostility orchestrated by the so-called leader of the free world. After years of intimidation, mistreatment and unsolved killings at the hands of US soldiers, it is no surprise that there is anger and resentment among journalists in Iraq. George Bush deserves to go out in ignominy given the damage he has wrought on the world, and Iraq in particular.

"Given the record of mistreatment of journalists in custody by US forces in Iraq, there is a real risk to the well-being of Muntadar. That is why the NUJ calls for his immediate release and guarantee of safety by the US and Iraqi authorities. The US could help defuse such outpouring of raw anger in the future by announcing an investigation into the 284 journalists believed to have been killed in Iraq since the start of the US occupation in 2003."