Chaos erupted in Iraq's parliament yesterday over the jailing of a reporter who threw his shoes at George W Bush, with MPs loyal to a radical anti-American cleric demanding his freedom. The Speaker responded by threatening to resign.

Chaos erupted in Iraq's parliament yesterday over the jailing of a reporter who threw his shoes at George W Bush, with MPs loyal to a radical anti-American cleric demanding his freedom. The Speaker responded by threatening to resign.

Muntadhar al Zaidi had been expected to appear yesterday before an investigative judge at Iraq's main court as a first step in a complex legal process that could end in a criminal trial. Instead, a judge visited him in his jail cell and the family was told to return to court in eight days, according to the journalist's brother, Dhargham.

"That means my brother was severely beaten and they fear that his appearance could trigger anger at the court," he added.

Iraqi officials and another brother have denied the journalist suffered severe injuries when he was wrestled to the floor after throwing the shoes during a news conference by Bush on Sunday.

He could face two years' imprisonment if found guilty of insulting a foreign leader.

Al Zaidi's bizarre act of defiance won the obscure television reporter hero status in Iraq and across the Arab world.

Followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr, as well as other Shia and Sunni groups, have staged three days of demonstrations demanding al Zaidi's release.

The Sadrists, in particular, hope to exploit public sympathy over the shoe assault to regain political momentum they lost after their failure to stop the US-Iraq security agreement that parliament approved last month. The deal allows US troops to remain in Iraq until 2012.

Al Sadr's supporters in parliament yesterday interrupted a session to demand that it address al Zaidi's case and allegations that he had been beaten in custody. Other MPs shouted that the case was a matter for the courts, triggering a noisy argument.

With MPs screaming at one another, Speaker Mahmoud al Mashhadani shouted: "There is no honour in leading this parliament and I announce my resignation."

Al Mashhadani has a history of eccentric behaviour and it was unclear whether the resignation was serious.

Even if the Speaker follows through, his departure would not effect the government of Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki. He was said to have been furious and personally humiliated by the shoe-throwing incident, considering it a breach of Arab rules of hospitality.

In Washington, deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the decision of what to do with al Zaidi was up to the Iraqis.

"Iraq is a democracy, these types of things happen in a democracy," Wood said. "That situation is going to have to work itself through the Iraqi judicial process."

Nevertheless, the outburst in parliament reflects the passions stirred up by Sunday's incident across Iraq, where many people harbour conflicting views of the US presence.

Iraqis are supposed to vote in a referendum next summer about whether to accept the US-Iraq security deal, and the Sadrists hope to use the al Zaidi case in their campaign against the agreement.

In another development, the State Department advisory panel is recommending that Blackwater Worldwide be dropped as a private security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq when its contract expires next year.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered a review after an incident in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. Five Blackwater guards have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from the incident. The company was not implicated.