Galloway accuses senators of 'smear'

George Galloway will accuse US senators of conducting a smear campaign against him after they alleged he was given millions of dollars in bribes by Saddam Hussein's regime.

George Galloway will accuse US senators of conducting a smear campaign against him after they alleged he was given millions of dollars in bribes by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Mr Galloway, who won a shock election victory in the Bethnal Green and Bow seat in east London 10 days ago, is due to confront the senate committee in person at a hearing on Tuesday. He is expected to accuse the permanent sub-committee on investigations of deliberate bias and of inaccuracies in its report.

His appearance follows a report by the senate committee last week that it had "significant evidence" that Mr Galloway had been profiting personally from the rights to sell 20 million barrels of Iraqi oil. It said oil vouchers were given to him in reward for his staunch criticisms of UN sanctions against Iraq.

Mr Galloway said yesterday he was particularly angry that the committee had published its allegations without giving him any chance to study its evidence or interviewing him first. He will also accuse the senators of being manipulated by US intelligence, since its main Iraqi witnesses, including former Iraqi ministers, are all in US custody.