Did maverick MP profit from oil-for-food cash?

What are the allegations against George Galloway?

The Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin is accused of profiting by more than £375,000 a year from a secret deal with Iraq over oil and food contracts.

The Daily Telegraph claims to have uncovered documents in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry that appeared to show Mr Galloway met a member of the Iraqi secret services in Baghdad on Boxing Day 1999. The key document states that in this meeting Mr Galloway asked for an increase in the share of oil revenues it says he was receiving from the Iraqi government. In return, it is alleged, Mr Galloway promised to continue his work in support of the Iraqi regime.

Under a deal struck with Tariq Aziz, former Iraqi deputy prime minister, the MP is said to have "obtained" three million barrels of oil every six months. The paper, which is apparently from a leader of the Iraqi secret service to Saddam Hussein, suggests his share was between 10 and 15 cents a barrel. The Telegraph calculates this to be £375,000 a year.

Was Mr Galloway in Baghdad at time of the alleged meeting?

Although the MP denies such a meeting took place, he told the Telegraph he could not remember if he was in Iraq during Christmas 1999. He says he has spent at least one Christmas in Baghdad but does not specify the year. He denies "knowingly" meeting a member of the Iraqi secret services.

However, last night he appeared to backtrack, telling BBC2's Newsnight that he spent Christmas Day "either in 99 or 2000" with Mr Aziz.

What does Mr Galloway say about this oil money?

He claims he has "never seen a barrel of oil, let alone owned, bought or sold one". Anyone receiving commission would not necessarily have to have done so. He later tells the Telegraph: "I have never solicited nor received money from Iraq for our campaign against war and sanctions." That, in itself, does not address any personal benefit.

If the documents, including a letter written by the Iraqi agent to Saddam Hussein, are genuine, could the money Mr Galloway was allegedly demanding have been meant for a charitable purpose?

Mr Galloway founded a campaign organisation, the Mariam Appeal, in 1998, to raise funds to help an Iraqi girl suffering from leukaemia to receive treatment in the UK. The fund was never granted charitable status here and its accounts have never been available for public scrutiny. Although the medical fund has been wound up, its name was later used in support of his campaign against UN sanctions.

But Mr Galloway, who says all the incriminating documents are forgeries, is categorical in insisting that "I have never asked Iraq for money to help our campaign. [It] was funded by private donations and governmental donations friendly to Britain and the United States."

He also says he has never asked anyone in the regime for money "either directly or indirectly". But the documents published by the newspaper allege there was a personal benefit to Mr Galloway. The Iraqi agent's memo says the "oil contracts and special and exceptional commercial opportunities" should provide the Labour backbencher with a "financial income under commercial cover without being connected to him directly".

Could the documents be forgeries or part of a plot in which Mr Galloway is a victim?

Impossible to say. But the Telegraph's account of how it obtained the papers makes no mention of how the reporter and his translator came to be in the office of Iraq's Foreign Minister. It also seems odd that so much of the material found in the Foreign Ministry was "burnt to a cinder", and yet the Galloway documents were saved.

What is the alleged involvement of Fawaz Abdullah Zureikat, a Jordanian businessman described as a key figure in the alleged negotiations between the Iraqi regime and the MP?

One of the letters found by the newspaper is alleged to have been written by Mr Galloway, who describes Mr Zureikat as "my representative in Baghdad on all matters concerning my work with the Mariam Appeal..." Mr Zureikat is alleged to have told the Iraqi spy that the name of Mr Galloway or his Palestinian wife "should not be mentioned". Mr Galloway tells The Daily Telegraph that Mr Zureikat, 53, is "politically committed to lifting the embargo and opposing the war. If you are asking me did I ask him to account for donations made to our work, no I didn't." This answer leaves open the possibility that Mr Zureikat, whose family is loyal to the Baath party, acted without the MP's authority.

Who is the Iraqi agent?

The newspaper makes no attempt to identify the Iraqi spy, whose signature it says is illegible but whose account is central to the story. His rank is given in the documents as the chief of the Iraqi intelligence service. There must always be a question mark about the veracity of information supplied by Iraqi agents who answer directly to Saddam Hussein. Many would have felt the need to justify their existence by exaggerating the importance of the intelligence they had gathered. One explanation is that the agent was on the take and was using Mr Galloway to siphon funds from the oil-for-food programme and other commercial contracts connected with the Iraqi regime.

Does Mr Galloway have a lifestyle that requires funding in excess of what he earns as an MP and newspaper pundit?

Not necessarily. The MP is paid £70,000 for a newspaper column he writes for The Mail on Sunday, as well as receiving an MP's annual salary of £56,358. He is also eligible for various expenses of up to £100,000 a year. He owns a house in south London and a holiday home in Portugal.

The House of Commons register of members' interests shows that Mr Galloway is also a paid director of Finjan Ltd, a media company.

Has he ever been accused of financial impropriety before?

In the 1980s, he was accused of running up extravagant expenses while travelling around the world, while he was general secretary of the charity War on Want.

He strenuously denied any wrongdoing and although he was cleared by an independent auditor of misusing funds, he later repaid £1,720 in disputed expenses.