George Galloway said that MPs should give him a medal for his work on Iraq and not suspend him from the House of Commons for 18 days, as recommended today by a disciplinary committee.

The MP for the anti-war alliance Respect party, faces the suspension after a committee of senior MPs accused him of secretly accepting funding from Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee said there was “strong circumstantial evidence” that Mr Galloway “connived” with the Saddam’s regime to accept financial backing for his campaign against western sanction on Iraq.

It accused the former Labour MP who returned to the Commons in 2005, of damaging the reputation of the Commons, saying he must apologise and be suspended for 18 sitting days when MPs return from their summer recess.

Effectively this means from October 8 to November 5, since the Commons usually sits for four days a week with occasional Fridays for private member’s Bills.

First, however there will be a lively Commons debate - probably next week - in which MPs are asked to approve his suspension and Mr Galloway has the opportunity to apologise. He gave notice today that he intends to make one of his trademark speeches, likely to be long, fiery and defiant.

He gave a flavour of his response in a series of combative television interviews today, protesting that he was the victim of false allegations and claimed he was faced being suspended for fighting to clear his name.

Speaking outside the Commons he said that what had upset the committee was that “I robustly defended myself” and if it were not for his criticism of the process, commission and witnesses, “I would merely been asked to apologise”.

He emphasised that it was found again that he did “not benefit by a single penny” from Iraq, from the oil for food programme or any other Iraqi source.

Mr Galloway said that he would not allow people to make false allegations against him. “I challenged everything that Sir Humphrey and Sir Bufton and Sir Tufton put to me because the points they were putting to me were false. I will not allow people to make false allegations against me," he said.

“I am not a punchbag. If you aim low blows at me I will fight back. That’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’ve been suspended for.”

If he is suspended, he said: “It will be painful, I assure you, but I intend to stagger on regardless.”

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