Remember Mariam? George didn’t...
George Galloway suffered a fresh blow yesterday when the Charity Commission announced it was extending its inquiry into his Mariam Appeal. Originally the commission was investigating how the appeal spent its money in the 12 months after it was launched in 1998. But now the inquiry will cover the spending of appeal funds over a five-year period, from 1998 until it was wound up this year. Mr Galloway, who was expelled from the Labour Party last month, launched the appeal when he flew a young Iraqi girl, Mariam Hamza, to Glasgow for treatment in a children’s hospital. She was suffering from leukaemia, for which Mr Galloway blamed uranium-tipped weapons used by the allies during the 1991 Gulf War, and the appeal paid for her care. Subsequently it also funded anti-war political campaigning.
The Mariam Appeal was never a registered charity. But the commission has the power to investigate organisations which raise money on an apparently charitable basis. If it rules that "charitable" funds were misused, it could freeze bank accounts or go to court to recover funds. The commission, which started its inquiry into the Mariam Appeal following a complaint from Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, is not expected to complete its investigation until next year. Attention was focused on the Mariam Appeal after The Daily Telegraph carried reports in April based on documents found in the Iraqi foreign ministry in Baghdad purporting to show that Mr Galloway received money from Saddam Hussein’s regime. Mr Galloway, MP for Glasgow Kelvin, has denied being paid by Saddam and is taking his time suing The Daily Telegraph for libel. |