A Bradford disabled people’s group last night condemned Respect MP George Galloway for using the slur “window-licker” in a conversation on Twitter.

Bradford and District Disabled People’s Forum said it was “very regrettable” the Bradford West MP had chosen to use the derogatory term in a tweet on the website, telling user @Hawfa: “You badly need medical help son. Will decent Rangers fans please substitute this windae-licker...”

Paul Cutler, of the group, said it had invited Mr Galloway to speak to its members during his by-election campaign in March and was disappointed he had used the word – a term voted the third most offensive that could be used relating to a disability in a poll run for the BBC’s Ouch! disability talk show in 2003.

Mr Galloway’s tweet comes a week after he sparked a backlash from women’s groups in the city for his controversial views on rape expressed in an internet video in connection with allegations made against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Mr Cutler said. “It’s very regrettable he’s found fit to use such language.

“More than a fifth of the population in Bradford is disabled, many of them with learning disabilities, and we are actively campaigning trying to stop these notions about hate crime, which we view to be rising.

“We’ve found it more than regrettable.”

Mr Cutler, speaking on behalf of the group, said it had also been “unimpressed” with Mr Galloway’s support for disabled constituents since he won his Bradford West seat, claiming he had not responded to a letter about difficulties disabled residents were having with taxis or an invitation to attend a lobby of Parliament by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Bradford Association of Visually Impaired People.

Mr Galloway, who is in Indonesia, last night told the Telegraph & Argus: “This was a response to a Zionist, sectarian Rangers supporter.

“I could have used moron. I probably should have. I’m not aware of the taxi issue but I will get straight onto it when I return from holiday next week.”

Meanwhile, figures obtained from West Yorkshire Police under the Freedom of Information Act show there were 147 recorded incidents of disability related hate crime in the region last year – an increase of 488 per cent since 2009 – but only 18 convictions.

Campaign group JUST West Yorkshire has now called for a an urgent review of reporting arrangements for victims of all hate crime.

Ratna Lachman, director of the group, said: “We repeat our call to the Chief Constable to urgently review present reporting arrangements in the light of these shocking figures.”

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday said he hoped the Paralympic Games would change attitudes towards disability around the world.

Speaking before tonight’s opening ceremony, he said: “It will be a very big moment to really change perceptions and that will be something to be proud of.”