Schwarzenegger hits back at home city

Arnold Schwarzenegger has told officials in his home city to remove his name from a sports stadium after he was criticised for his decision to execute a gang leader.

The Green Party in his home town of Graz in Austria started a petition to have the Terminator star's Austrian citizenship removed when he denied clemency to gang leader Stan "Tookie" Williams. Schwarzenegger, who is now governor of California, had refused to repeal the death sentence given to the gang leader even after Williams' efforts to calm gang rivalries.

In response to these efforts Schwarzenegger demanded that his name be removed from the local sports stadium, and has handed back the city's Ring of Honour.

In a letter to the city's council he wrote: "In all likelihood, during my term as governor, I will have to make similar and equally difficult decisions," and adds with regards to the Ring of Honour, "As the official Graz appears to no longer accept me as one of their own, this ring has lost its meaning and value to me. It is already in the mail."