It been too long since I have had a go at Gormless George Galloway, so lets see what he has been up to recently.... Oh dear....George Galloway last night branded the thrust of a controversial report "a complete and utter lie". The document claims a £1.5m campaign, founded by the MP, received large amounts of money from "improper transactions" under the discredited UN oil-for-food programme.
The leader of the Respect Party also accused the Charity Commission - which conducted the investigation into the Mariam Appeal - of blacken- ing his name by suggesting he "may have known" some of the money flowing into the political campaign was allegedly tainted.
"It's a smear," declared Ron McKay, Mr Galloway's spokesman, who said the former Glasgow MP treated the commission "with contempt". He told The Herald: "It's a complete and utter lie. There's no evidence against George. They never even spoke to him."
The commission's report refers repeatedly to the MP's denial of any wrongdoing but notes how it is "concerned, having considered the totality of the evidence before it, that Mr Galloway may also have known of the connection between the appeal and the programme".
When asked if this was leaving a question-mark over the MP's integrity, a spokeswoman for the commission told The Herald: "Our concern is public trust in charities. I'm sorry not to answer the question directly. Based on all the evidence we've seen, we are concerned George Galloway may have known."
The commission says it is satisfied funds received by the appeal were spent for humanitarian purposes. But it adds that, in accepting the money, the appeal's five trustees, who included the back bencher, were "not sufficiently vigilant and did not properly discharge their legal duties regarding these donations".
The Mariam Appeal was founded in 1998 by the MP to provide medicines along with medical equipment and assistance to the people of Iraq and to arrange for medical treatment for Iraqi children outside Iraq.
The commission investigated the appeal in 2003 and concluded that the trustees had been unaware they had created a charity but had spent donations for their intended humanitarian purposes. However, following reports in 2005 from the UN and the US Senate alleging that tainted money had flowed from the oil-for-food programme to the appeal, the commission began a second inquiry.
Much of the latest report centres on Fawad Zureikat, a Jordanian businessman, the appeal's first chairman and a friend of Mr Galloway.
It says he donated a large part of the £1.47m given to the fund, some £448,000, noting: "As Mr Zureikat made his donations to the appeal from commissions and other payments derived from the programme, the commission has concluded these donations came from improper sources."
The report also points out that Mr Zureikat, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, did not respond to requests for information, nor did Dr Aminah Abu-Zayyad, a former scientist in Glasgow and Mr Galloway's ex-wife.
The commission says it does not have any powers of criminal prosecution and will not be taking further action.
In March, The Herald revealed Mr Galloway would not face a criminal investigation by Scotland Yard into allegations he broke UN sanctions by allegedly taking oil money from Saddam Hussein, a claim he has denied.
The Metropolitan Police, after liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, dropped any idea of investigating claims of corruption against the 52-year-old MP, or anyone else.
While the Serious Fraud Office is expanding its probe into alleged fraud concerning humanitarian aid contracts to take in oil contracts, it has made clear Mr Galloway will not figure in investigations.
In 2005, Mr Galloway testified before the US Senate and denied oil-for-food allegations, saying: "I have never seen a barrel of oil, never bought one, never sold one, and neither has anyone on my behalf."
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