British Member of Parliament George Galloway testified at a hearing on how Saddam Hussein manipulated the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Program to win influence and reward friends in order to undermine sanctions imposed on Iraq following the Persian Gulf War. A committee report on alleged abuses of the program had named Minister Galloway as one of several foreign officials who had received lucrative oil allocations in the scheme.

Mr. Galloway harshly criticized the report and challenged members to produce evidence of the allegations. He also broadly criticized U.S. policy in Iraq and the decision to use military power to oust the Hussein government.

This is not a complete record of the hearing, but contains Mr. Galloway’s opening statement in its entirety.