The British Member of Parliament (MP) George Galloway angrily rejected fresh allegations on Monday from a US Senate investigation that he lied under oath about former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's multimillion-dollar oil-for-food program.
The inquiry, headed by Republican Norm Coleman, claimed he had "knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath" when he appeared before a committee hearing in Washington in May. The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in east London won widespread acclaim, especially from anti-Iraq war campaigners, when he flew to the US capital to confront Coleman.
An assistant to Galloway, Ron McKay, who sat beside him at the senate hearing, said last night that Galloway was prepared to fly to Washington again to face the new allegations.
Galloway and the senator have been at loggerheads since the senate began its inquiry into oil-for-food, a UN humanitarian program intended to alleviate Iraqi suffering from sanctions.
The latest report from the committee claims: "Galloway personally solicited and was granted oil allocations from Iraq during the reign of former president Saddam Hussein. The Hussein regime granted Galloway and the Mariam Appeal [an organization he set up to help Iraqis suffering from sanctions] eight allocations totalling 23m barrels from 1999 through to 2003."
"Galloway's wife, Dr. Amineh Abu-Zayyad, received approximately US$150,000 in connection with one of those oil allocations," it said.
"Galloway's political campaign, the Mariam Appeal, received at least US$446,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal under the oil-for-food program," it said.
"The Hussein regime received improper `surcharge' payments amounting to US$1,642,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal," it said.
"Galloway knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath before the sub-committee," it said.
Galloway said, "There is not a shred of truth in any of these allegations. There has been no impropriety and I have not received even one thin dime from the oil-for-food program."
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