THE BIG LIE? - 3

And yet another thing. I agree with Harry that this isn't primarily about Galloway personally trousering large wads of wonga. The questions are:

1. Was Galloway's political campaign, the Mariam Appeal, subsidised indirectly by Saddam Hussein's regime via the Jordanian businessman Fawaz Zuriekat?

2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, did Galloway know?

3. And if it's yes to 1 and no to 2, did Galloway ask Zuriekat where his money came from?

4. Was the Mariam Appeal used by Zuriekat to launder oil-for-food receipts back to Saddam's regime?

5. If the answer to question 4 is yes, did Galloway know?

Now Galloway has accepted the invitation to appear before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, we might get some answers to these questions – or we might not. My hunch is that if he actually goes to Washington, Galloway will stick to insisting loudly that he has not personally received a penny, that he was vindicated in his libel action against the Telegraph and that he's the victim of an elaborate imperialist set-up.