Galloway to Take On Senate Accusers in 'Lion's Den'

GEORGE Galloway is to fly to Washington to take on the United States Senate after it published an explosive report which claims to offer proof that he was offered financial favours by Saddam Hussein.

After winning a libel case against the Daily Telegraph for similar allegations, Mr Galloway will travel to argue his case - that he never solicited money from Saddam, and any documents which claim otherwise are forgeries.

But the Senate committee yesterday claimed to have a trump card: evidence from captured Iraqi officials, including Saddam’s former vice-president, who said Mr Galloway was hand-picked for bribery.

Fresh from his stunning victory in Bethnal Green and Bow, where he defeated Labour’s Oona King on behalf of his anti-war Respect party, Mr Galloway expressed outrage at the US report.

Mr Galloway’s name was among those of 270 recipients of vouchers printed by an Iraqi newspaper in January last year. He has vigorously protested his innocence, and was awarded almost $2 million in legal costs after suing the Daily Telegraph for implying he was 'in the pay' of Saddam. A furious Mr Galloway spent much of yesterday on the airwaves, saying the Senate had simply regurgitated the claims he had successfully disproved in the High Court last year.

Mr Galloway predicted the same success he has enjoyed taking on the Daily Telegraph and battling Ms King, whom he defeated last week with a majority of 800 votes.

'I’ll be there and I’ll be taking them on in their own lion’s den and I’ll be Daniel and I’ll be triumphant,' he told the BBC. 'Even in Kafka there was a trial of sorts. Here, I was pronounced guilty by a committee that is now going to hear me.'