Inquiry: Galloway Lied Under Oath

An inquiry is claiming George Galloway had "knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath" about Saddam Hussein's multimillion-pound oil-for-food programme when he appeared before a committee hearing in Washington in May. The British MP angrily rejected the accusation last night.

The latest report from the committee claims:

· Galloway personally solicited and was granted oil allocations from the government of Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein - totalling 23m barrels.

· Galloway's wife received approximately $150,000 in connection with one of those oil allocations.

· Galloway's political campaign, the Mariam Appeal, received at least $446,000 in connection with the oil allocations under the oil-for-food programme.

· The Hussein regime received improper 'surcharge' payments amounting to $1,642,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal.

Says Tariq Aziz, Iraq’s former deputy prime minister: "These oil allocations were for the benefit of George Galloway and for Mariam's Appeal. Aziz also allegedly told investigators that Mr Galloway had expressed concern to him about "the appearance of taking money directly from the Iraqi government", and asked for his and his wife's name to be omitted from official documents. However, the report found that several documents, authenticated by former regime officials, did mention Mr Galloway by name.

Says former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yasin Ramadan: Mr Galloway was a "friend of Iraq" who "needed to be compensated for his support". "Galloway needed money to pay for his actions," … "we gave him oil to sell to make the money".   Guardian.