Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband has been challenged on more claims he has made in the last few days against George Galloway since Galloway's shock by-election victory in Bradford West.
At a meeting in Derby, Miliband absurdly claimed Galloway had promised Bradford voters he would cut taxes. Now it is alleged Miliband also claimed to a meeting in Exeter that Galloway supported Saddam Hussain and President Assad of Syria. These claims have been challenged in a letter to Miliband from Galloway aide Rob Hoveman. Hoveman is still waiting for a response to a previous email challenging the taxes claim.
The text of the email to Miliband is below.
Email from Rob Hoveman to Ed Miliband
Dear Mr Miliband
I am still waiting for a reply to my question as to why you made a statement to a public gathering in Derby that was so palpably untrue as to be laughable, namely that George Galloway claimed during the Bradford West by-election that he would cut taxes.
I have now been told, seemingly reliably, that you told a similar gathering in Exeter on April 4th that George Galloway supports Saddam Hussain and (Basher Al-Assad. This is again quite untrue and is surely something you know or should know to be untrue.
What is true is that George Galloway opposed Saddam Hussain for many years when he was being courted and, indeed, financed by the British and other Western governments. After Saddam ceased to be of use to Western governments, George Galloway then opposed the sanctions on Iraq that killed up to a million people and the war on Iraq that has killed hundreds of thousands more and brought ruin to Iraq.
As for President Assad of Syria, George Galloway has repeatedly called for a cessation of violence on all sides, supported the peace initiative by former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan and called for an end to dictatorship in Syria and democratic elections.
Would you now kindly make a further public retraction of the falsehoods you have been pedalling in public and apologise for so doing?
You also ought to be aware that George Galloway is suing a Labour councillor in Bradford for a serious libel sent by text to many people during the recent by-election. Will you ensure this councillor is suspended from the Labour Party until such time as the case is resolved and expelled if guilt of the libel is accepted.
I look forward to your replies to my questions.
Yours sincerely
Rob Hoveman