Galloway & the Fake Sheikh (updated) posted by Richard Seymour

The News of the World has been caught out trying to entrap George Galloway by 'offering' him illicit funds for Respect via two journalists claiming to be Sam Fernando and Pervaiz Khan, who also tried getting him to agree to antisemitic statements and Holocaust denial. Galloway has sought a police investigation, while alerting the Speaker of the House of Commons. It seems the pair, particularly one journalist named Mazher Mahmood, have been trying this on with a number of other MPs, including Diane Abbot. Here's the press-release:

The Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, George Galloway, has today referred an attempt to criminally implicate him to the Metropolitan police and also to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The attempt was made on Saturday evening when two men – claiming to be Sam Fernando and Pervaiz Khan – said that they could provide illicit funding to him and to the party. He rejected the overture. The two also made anti-Semitic remarks which they encouraged Galloway to share. He did not.

It transpires that the two men were actually working for the News of the World and that one of them was Mazher Mahmood, otherwise known as the ‘fake sheikh’.

‘This was a blatant and outrageous attempt to suborn a member of parliament,’ Galloway said. ‘But it was so heavy-handed that I immediately smelled a rat. The two claimed to be Muslims but were ignorant of Muslim customs and practices. The press have, of course, an obligation to investigate corruption but this was a blatant attempt to create it and is completely unacceptable.’

Galloway said that he had a photograph of Mahmood – from which he was able to identify the ‘fake sheikh – and that he now intended to make it widely available. He is also demanding that the News of the World now make available all their material, including tape recordings made of conversations.

Here's the letter to the police commissioner, Ian Blair:

Dear Commissioner Blair,

I am writing to bring to your notice an urgent and important matter concerning an attempt to break the electoral laws of this country over foreign funding.

As you will see from the enclosed, I was targeted by Mazher Mahmood of the News of the World, otherwise known as the ‘fake sheikh’, and his colleague, going by the name of Sam Fernando. They sought to implicate me in what would be illegal political funding and sought my agreement to anti-Semitic views, including Holocaust denial. I learnt subsequently that they were seeking a meeting for the same purpose with my parliamentary colleague Jeremy Corbyn MP.

I have today written to the Speaker of the House of Commons as I believe this attempt to subvert the political process constitutes a breach of parliamentary privilege.

I am releasing this material to the media simultaneously.

I believe you should treat this matter seriously, especially as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner is already holding two investigations into funding of political parties.

I have a picture of Mr Mahmood, which I am considering circulating to all Members of the House of Commons and more widely in order to protect others from this unscrupulous individual. I look forward to hearing from you.

And here's the letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons:

Dear Speaker’s Office,

I am writing to bring to your notice an urgent and important matter concerning parliamentary privilege on which I ask that you launch an immediate investigation in order to protect the integrity of the House of Commons, its members and the political process.

As you will see from the enclosed I was targeted by Mazher Mahmood of the News of the World otherwise known as the ‘fake sheikh’ and his colleague going by the name of Sam Fernando. They sought to implicate me in what would be illegal political funding and sought my agreement to anti-Semitic views, including Holocaust denial.

I learnt subsequently that they were seeking a meeting for the same purpose with my parliamentary colleague Jeremy Corbyn MP. The same Mahmood has on a previous occasion deceived parliamentary staff and my colleague Diane Abbott MP for similarly nefarious purposes.

I have today written to Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, as I believe this attempt to subvert the political process constitutes a criminal offence.

I am releasing this material to the media simultaneously.

I believe you should treat this matter seriously; on this occasion I was the intended victim, but further Members of the House could potentially be set up in this way. I have a picture of Mr Mahmood, which I am considering circulating to all Members of the House and more widely in order to protect others from this unscrupulous individual.

I look forward to hearing from you.

On the same day it emerges that Blair aides, and the Prime Minister himself, face a police probe over the cash-for-peerages scandal, it is delicious to find the News of the World on the wrong end of a possible police investigation. How ironic that they're busily trying to fit up left-wing MPs while the scum at the top of the New Labour pile are festering in their own cesspit of corruption.

Update: Galloway has a hilarious post about this on his blog, with some new detail.

Further update: Pictures.