George Galloway

Twitter, later renamed X, labelled Galloway's account "Russian state-affiliated media", particularly because of his work for RT and Sputnik. Galloway brought defamation and personal data proceedings in Ireland. In October 2024, the High Court ordered X to file its defence; the label had meanwhile disappeared.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Galloway and his wife were stopped and questioned for several hours at Gatwick by counter-terrorism officers under Schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act, following a trip that included Moscow.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the Rochdale by-election, Galloway centred his campaign on Gaza and addressed Muslim voters directly, referring to their responsibility before God. Following his victory, he accused Labour officials of having blood on their hands because of their position on Gaza.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Galloway stated that he did not regard homosexual relationships as "normal" or equivalent to heterosexual relationships, while maintaining that gay people should be treated with respect and affection. These remarks prompted renewed controversy over LGBT rights.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During his brief return to Parliament in 2024, Galloway promoted several conspiracy narratives: he rejected official accounts of major American political assassinations, suggested US, Ukrainian or NATO responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack despite Islamic State's claim of responsibility, and publicly speculated about the absence of Catherine, Princess of Wales.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

After winning the February by-election, Galloway lost Rochdale to Labour in the July 2024 general election, ending his latest period in the House of Commons after approximately four months.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Directly implicated

Galloway presented or hosted programmes for several media outlets linked to foreign states, including Iran's Press TV and Russian outlets RT and Radio Sputnik. These activities fuelled criticism of his proximity to the editorial positions of Tehran and Moscow.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Batley and Spen by-election was marked by allegations of intimidation, street confrontations and the mobilisation of socially conservative themes in some messages targeting Muslim voters. Galloway's campaign was criticised for rhetoric regarded as hostile to LGBT rights.

Ofcom found that several RT programmes had breached impartiality rules, including programmes presented by Galloway concerning Salisbury and Syria. RT was fined £200 000, and its appeals were unsuccessful.

State of the evidence

Documented

The Charity Commission concluded that Viva Palestina, an organisation founded and publicly promoted by Galloway, had been poorly managed by its trustees, with deficient accounts and records and little evidence enabling aid to be traced to beneficiaries despite substantial funds raised.

Following Liverpool's Champions League victory, Galloway posted a message celebrating the absence of Israeli flags on the trophy. TalkRadio dismissed him, stating that it did not tolerate antisemitic views.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the Bradford West campaign, Galloway accused Labour candidate Naz Shah of lying about her age at the time of a forced marriage and displayed a religious document obtained through an intermediary to challenge her account. Shah rejected his claims and maintained that she had been 15.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Directly implicated

In Bradford, Galloway declared that he wanted to make the city an "Israel-free zone" and called for a boycott of Israeli goods, services and academics. Police questioned him under caution over possible incitement to hatred.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Galloway walked out of a debate at Oxford after discovering that his opponent was Israeli, stating that he did not debate with Israelis. The episode prompted allegations of racism and hostility based on nationality.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the Bradford West by-election, Galloway explicitly targeted Muslim voters and voters of Pakistani origin, referring in particular to God's judgement and contrasting his personal practices with those of his opponent. The strategy attracted strong criticism for communalism and religious division.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Commenting on allegations against Julian Assange, Galloway stated that certain described conduct, particularly intercourse begun during sleep following earlier consensual intercourse, amounted to "bad sexual etiquette" rather than rape. His remarks prompted widespread condemnation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

A few days after the Assange controversy, Galloway used the term "window licker" on Twitter, an insult traditionally directed at disabled people. Organisations and politicians called for an apology.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Personally implicated

Programmes presented by Galloway on TalkSport and later Press TV were found by Ofcom to have breached due impartiality requirements, particularly because of coverage of political issues considered insufficiently balanced.

State of the evidence

Documented

Canadian authorities initially considered Galloway inadmissible, citing his Viva Palestina convoy and aid delivered to Gaza, which his critics presented as material support for Hamas. He challenged that classification and was eventually permitted to enter Canada in 2010.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Committee on Standards and Privileges found several breaches by Galloway: failures to declare interests, excessive use of parliamentary resources and violation of the rule prohibiting paid advocacy. The committee also considered that there was strong circumstantial evidence that the Oil-for-Food programme had been used, with his connivance, to fund the Mariam Appeal. The House approved a suspension of 18 sitting days and a requirement to apologise.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the debate on the Mariam Appeal report, the Speaker "named" Galloway for wilfully disregarding the authority of the Chair. The House voted for his immediate suspension for the remainder of the sitting, separate from the 18-day suspension linked to the standards report.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Galloway was awarded £150 000 in damages against the Daily Telegraph over articles portraying him as personally financed by Saddam Hussein's regime. The decision was subsequently upheld on appeal.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

The Committee on Standards and Privileges concluded that Galloway should have registered a legal fund established to finance his litigation and four donations exceeding the applicable disclosure thresholds.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

While serving as an MP, Galloway appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. The episode in which he imitated a cat became iconic, and his participation in the programme drew criticism concerning the image of his office and his absence from parliamentary work; his declared interests indicated substantial remuneration.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

A US Senate subcommittee maintained that Iraqi oil allocations had benefited individuals or organisations linked to Galloway under the Oil-for-Food programme. Galloway appeared in Washington and strongly denied having owned, bought or sold oil or personally benefited from those allocations.

Attribution

Directly implicated

The 2005 campaign in Bethnal Green and Bow between Galloway and Oona King was marked by allegations of intimidation, communalism and antisemitism. King alleged, in particular, that Respect activists had asked Muslim voters not to vote for her because she was Jewish.

Following his election, Galloway claimed that thousands of fictitious voters and "dirty tricks" had been used in Tower Hamlets. He himself acknowledged that the available evidence was largely circumstantial.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Galloway launched the Mariam Appeal to fund activities relating to Iraq and the medical treatment of an Iraqi child. The Charity Commission investigated the organisation, its funds and its failure to register formally as a charity despite having purposes considered charitable.

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Christian Science Monitor had published documents purporting to show that Galloway received substantial sums from the Iraqi regime. Its subsequent investigation concluded that the documents were almost certainly forgeries; the newspaper withdrew the accusation and the matter was settled in Galloway's favour.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Labour expelled Galloway in 2003 following several strongly worded statements against the Iraq War and Tony Blair's leadership, with the party considering that he had damaged its reputation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Galloway met Saddam Hussein again in August 2002, as the Iraq War approached. In its subsequent inquiry, the Committee on Standards and Privileges considered the Iraqi record of the meeting authentic and used it to examine the nature of his relationship with the regime.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Personally implicated

A complaint argued that Galloway should have declared an interest linked to Hawk Communications and the Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights when speaking in Parliament about Saudi Arabia. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards considered the available evidence insufficient to establish a breach, and the committee accepted that conclusion.

Attribution

Directly implicated

During a televised meeting with Saddam Hussein in 1994, Galloway delivered the now-famous phrase praising his "courage, strength and indefatigability". The scene fuelled longstanding allegations of indulgence towards the Iraqi dictator.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During and after his tenure as general secretary of War on Want, George Galloway was accused in the press of maintaining an extravagant lifestyle at the organisation's expense. However, the charity's accountants concluded in 1987 that he had reimbursed the identified personal expenses. A subsequent Charity Commission inquiry criticised serious management and accounting failings during that period, without establishing that he had personally misappropriated charity funds.

State of the evidence

Documented

Lobbying organisations and a publishing company linked to Galloway received substantial funding from the Pakistani government in the 1990s, particularly relating to Kashmir and a newspaper project supportive of Benazir Bhutto's government. The affair raised questions about his outside interests.