MP for St Albans Kerry Pollard has spoken out over his relationship with controversial Labour MP George Galloway, who is currently facing allegations he received money from Saddam Hussein's regime.

Mr Pollard twice accompanied Mr Galloway and several other MPs on week-long trips to Iraq, firstly in November 2001 and then again in May last year. The delegation was accompanied on the trip by journalists from the national press.

Recently The Daily Telegraph has claimed it has found documents that prove Mr Galloway took a cut of oil money from the Iraqi government worth at least £375,000 a year.

Mr Galloway has denied the accusations.

Speaking on his time with outspoken Mr Galloway, Mr Pollard said: "The truth is he is not a friend of mine and we do not move in the same circles.

"We only went on those trips together because we shared a common interest to see the effect of sanctions on the common Iraqi people."

"He simply had a lot of contacts."

"On the second week-long trip we only saw George on one day on a visit to Basra. The rest of the time he did his own thing and we didn't know where he was.

"I'm sorry that he has found himself in this position and I am sure the truth will come out in the fullness of time.

"At the moment there is a lot of innuendo and not much hard evidence."

Mr Pollard's visits to Iraq were funded by the Great Britain-Iraq Society, an appeal set up by Mr Galloway in June 2000.

Mr Pollard was warned by the deputy chief whip of the Labour Party to beware of where the funds for the trips were coming from.

Mr Pollard said: "There was no way that he (the deputy chief whip) could have known at the time about these allegations because the news only broke a couple of weeks ago.

"My feeling is that he was trying to put me off and force me to reconsider going.

"I was assured by an official of the society that that the money all came from its 10,000 members. This reassured me.

"The society was the only way I could see to obtain a visa, set up the meetings I had and gain the kind of access to the Iraqi people that we did.

"It would have been ridiculous to ask to see the accounts.

"I simply used them as a catalyst to facilitate my visit."

An investigation is currently underway by the Charities Commission into another of Mr Galloway's appeals, the Mariam Fund, to see if any money was spent for non-charitable purposes.

On his second visit Mr Pollard met with the then Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, who surrendered to US forces in Baghdad last Thursday and is reportedly seeking asylum in the UK.

-From The St. Albans Observer

April 30, 2003 16:30