Saddam execution deplorable, says British official

London: The manner of Saddam Hussain's execution was "deplorable", Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said on Tuesday, branding leaked mobile phone footage of his hanging "totally unacceptable".

Prescott said those responsible for capturing and circulating the footage should be condemned. Prescott's comments, which he admitted could stir controversy, were much stronger than the initial official reaction in which Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Saddam had been "held to account" while reiterating Britain's opposition to capital punishment.

Meanwhile, Cuba has condemned the execution of Saddam as an assassination and called for an end to the US-led war.

"It is political foolishness, an illegal act in a country that has been driven to an internal conflict in which millions of citizens have been exiled or lost their lives," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.