Prescott deplores Saddam's execution

John Prescott today condemned the shambolic way Saddam Hussein was executed, calling it "deplorable".

After the world was shocked by sneak video of the former dictator being taunted as he was hanged, the Deputy Prime Minister appeared to criticise the Iraqi government's handling of the incident.

More

• Inquiry into taunting of Saddam on gallows

• Macabre and chaotic execution scenes

• Commentary by Max Hastings: Justice? No, a sordid show of mob vengeance

• Shocking new Saddam video: taunted as he waited to hang

• In focus: Saddam Hussein's trial and execution

"I think the manner was quite deplorable, really. I don't think once can in any way endorse that, whatever your views about capital punishment.

Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out was totally unacceptable," he told Radio 4.

But Mr Prescott refused several attempts by his BBC interviewer to clarify whether he was criticising the Iraqi authorities who oversaw the execution or only those who taped it, apparently on a mobile phone.

His comments come after Tony Blair refused to make any comment on Saddam's execution.

In his New Year message, he made no mention of it at all.

MPs think the Premier, who opposes the death penalty, wants to distance himself from the hanging.

Leaders around the world, however, were appalled when the leaked images of the hanging were spread over the internet.

The Iraqi government today launched an inquiry into how guards filmed and taunted Saddam on the gallows, turning his execution into a televised spectacle that has caused sectarian anger.

Enraged crowds of Sunni Muslims have protested in Iraq.