The allegations: The Daily Telegraph says that Foreign Ministry files found in Baghdad showed that George Galloway, the Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin, who runs a campaign against trade sanctions on Iraq, received at least £375,000 a year from the Iraqi Government for several years via the UN's Oil-for-Food programme.

The newspaper alleged that papers it found said that the backbencher asked for a greater cut of profits from the sale of Iraqi oil and of food sold back to Iraq. It suggested that he obtained the money indirectly through a Jordanian business partner and his wife.

Mr Galloway has denied ever trading in oil or receiving any money directly or indirectly from the Iraqi Government and called the documents forgeries.

Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor:

"If the story is true, and Mr Galloway has vehemently denied it, sanctions have not been broken.

"Since the sanctions were imposed on the Iraqis they set up a sophisticated system of recompensing their friends by granting them oil contracts. The main beneficiaries were the Russians, the French and the Chinese - the favoured members of the UN Security Council.

"But there were also individuals such as Russian MPs and figures in the Arab world who would be allowed to sell the oil through the UN and get a cut of that sale. It was a way that the Iraqis buy support.

"On what we've seen from the documents printed in The Daily Telegraph, the allegation is that Mr Galloway's partner in Jordan and his wife were the ones who did the alleged deal. Mr Galloway allegedly didn't actually touch it, but he was supposedly the ultimate beneficiary.

"Looking at the Iraqi documents, the language is slightly ambiguous. If the Iraqis paid these sums of money to somebody, I'm surprised that there are not more detailed reports - detailed receipts, bank account numbers. They control this sort of funding very carefully.

"If the allegations are proven, Mr Galloway might be liable if he benefited financially from this and didn't disclose it in the register at the House of Commons or to the tax authorities. He is very unlikely to retain his parliamentary seat and could be stripped of the Labour Party whip and be deselected as an MP by his Labour constituency."

Angus MacLeod, Scottish Political Correspondent:

The number of parliamentary seats for Glasgow in the House of Commons is being reduced from ten to eight as the map has been redrawn for the constituencies.

In mid-summer there will be selections for candidates for the new Glasgow constituencies. If someone up for Labour Party nomination in an election has had any disciplinary action taken against them - like having the whip taken away - they cannot be nominated.

Even before the Telegraph story, this was said to be the favoured route for expelling Mr Galloway over comments made against Tony Blair during the war.

There has been a recent case of outright expulsion from the party - three or four years ago Tommy Graham was expelled for bringing the party into disrepute by slandering other Labour MPs. He went through a full disciplinary procedure before expulsion.

Mike Warburton, tax partner at Grant Thornton:

"If Mr Galloway did receive the money and did not declare it in his tax returns, which has not been proven, the Inland Revenue could rule the omission to be negligent and Mr Galloway would simply have to pay the tax on the money, plus any interest and late payment penalties. But if it were deliberate, it is a criminal matter, which could result in a custodial sentence.

"The Revenue likes to make an example out of high profile people, such as MPs."

Explore Specials

• Style Guide