GEORGE Galloway says he is being smeared over reports an alleged British member of the Islamic State terror group, who is believed to have fled Britain in 2009 was on the former MP's convoy to the Gaza Strip.
Alexanda Kotey was one of two unmasked members of the notorious ISIS execution cell headed by 'Jihadi John' - who is said to have travelled to the Middle East on an aid convoy led by Mr Galloway.
Kotey was reportedly part of the murderous gang, dubbed The Beatles because of their UK accents and thought to be responsible for the beheadings of 27 hostages.
He was named at the weekend as a key conspirator with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer given the moniker Jihadi John.
Jihadi John
Mr Galloway responded to the reports on Twitter saying: "If none of the security services could in 2009 predict Alexanda Kotey would years later become a terrorist, how on earth could I?"
His spokesman has previously said that Mr Galloway, a London mayoral candidate has no recollection of Mr Kotey but said it was "entirely possible" that he could have been on the Gaza trip.
Mr Galloway, who said folk were trying to "Corbyn me" over Isis added: "As every journalist currently smearing me knows there is no-one in public life more anti-Isis than me."
In 2009, Kotey, a 32-year-old convert to Islam, is believed to have left the UK, leaving his two children behind, as part of a convoy to support Hamas in Gaza led by then-MP George Galloway.
The so-called Viva Palestina initiative was comprised of 110 vehicles. The campaign group claimed the convoy took more than £1 million in aid to the region, including ambulances, medicine and food.
The Gaza Strip at the time was facing a humanitarian crisis following a three-week offensive by Israel.
About half of Gaza's population was at the time dependent on UN food aid.
As Mr Galloway was challenged online to condemn Alexanda he responded: "I am Britain's biggest opponent of Isis. Don't be stupid lad."
He added:"Actually, I'm proud to have repeatedly broken #Gaza siege. I'm Not responsible for any actions years later of any who may have followed."
Other backers of the Gaza mission include the Stop the War Coalition, the Respect Party, the Anglo-Arab Organisation and several UK trade unions.
Mr Galloway then said it would be the largest convoy of British vehicles to north Africa since the days of Field Marshal Montgomery.
Viva Palestina, also known as Lifeline for Gaza, was founded as a fundraising appeal by Mr Galloway, then Respect MP for Bradford West, in January 2009, and ran a number of aid convoys to take food and supplies to Gaza.
Mr Galloway further tweeted: "My crystal ball in 2009 on the hard road to #Gaza to break the siege was cloudy. Like the security services I was unable to see years ahead."
A spokesman for Mr Galloway previously pointed out that the aid convoy pre-dated the formation of IS and added: "It's possible he was there but George doesn't remember meeting him."
George Galloway's speech on entering Gaza
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel