Amineh Abu-Zayyad, 39, Mr Galloway’s second wife, announced her intention to divorce the former Labour MP as he prepared for the last week of campaigning in the fiercely contested seat of Bethnal Green & Bow.

Ms Zayyad has spent much of the past two years abroad and, when in Britain, has been living at the couple’s home in Streatham, South London.

Mr Galloway has moved to a flat in the East London constituency where he is hoping the antiwar sentiment among the large Muslim population will help him to unseat Labour’s Oona King. The contest has been characterised by street violence and allegations of intimidation and dirty tricks.

Ms Zayyad, a scientist, told The Sunday Times that she would be seeking advice from lawyers this week. She said: “When he told me he was going to call his new party Respect I went upstairs and cried. How can he call it this when he doesn’t even treat his own wife with respect?”

Mr Galloway said his marriage had been in difficulty for some time and he had hoped for a reconciliation. He said there was no one else involved. He and his first wife, Elaine, with whom he has a daughter, divorced in 1989. He was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for remarks during the Iraq war. Ron McKay, his campaign manager, said: “It is a personal tragedy for them.”

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