Scots politician George Galloway has signed a deal to write a series of children's books.

The former Labour and Respect MP made the announcement on Twitter, with the first novel to be published later this year.

The 62-year-old firebrand is already the author of three books, autobiography I'm Not the Only One, Mr Galloway Goes to Washington and Fidel Castro Handbook.

This venture will take him into the genre of children's novels for the first time and the series will be entitled Red Molucca the Good Pirate.

Galloway said on Twitter: "Just signed a publishing deal for a children's book series written by me illustrated by @joecooknow called "Red Molucca the Good Pirate".

The Dundee-born politician has represented four constituencies as an MP between 1987 and 2015 for the Labour Party and later the Respect Party, with a gap between 2010 and 2012.

He was expelled from the Labour Party after being found guilty by the party's national constitutional committee of four of the five charges of bringing the party into disrepute over comments relating to the party's stance on the Iraq War.

Galloway's last spell in the Commons ended in 2015 when he lost his Bradford West seat.