LONDON - British parliamentarian George Galloway, one of the most outspoken critics of war in Iraq, won a libel battle with the Daily Telegraph newspaper Thursday over its allegations that he was "in the pay" of Saddam Hussein.

High Court judge David Eady said the allegations were "seriously defamatory" and awarded the Scottish MP $291,000.

He refused to give the newspaper permission to appeal in the case.

Galloway, a flamboyant figure known as "Gorgeous George" for his colorful love life, was expelled from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party last year after branding Blair and President Bush "wolves" for their invasion of Iraq.

It was the second time he had won damages over Iraq allegations against him. In March, he accepted an undisclosed sum from the U.S.-based Christian Science Monitor over a story which alleged he took $10 million to support Saddam.

Speaking after the case, Galloway launched a tirade against Blair and said the Telegraph had been given a "judicial caning."

"The Daily Telegraph has been held to account, and what an account it has been. But when is Tony Blair going to be held to account?" he said to cheers from his supporters.

"Tony Blair dragged this country into a disastrous war ... all for a pack of lies," he added.

The case centered on newspaper articles in April 2003 that were based on documents discovered in Iraq by Telegraph reporter David Blair.

Galloway said the articles "claimed that I had made very substantial secret profits from Saddam Hussein and his regime."

During the hearing, he denied that he was "a greedy crook" who took cash from the regime of the former Iraqi leader to fund a luxury lifestyle.

The court watched a video in which Galloway told Saddam "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability."

Galloway said that with hindsight his choice of words was unfortunate and that he had meant to praise the strength of the Iraqi people.

The 50-year-old Glasgow MP told the judge, who was sitting without a jury, that he never took "Saddam's shilling" to live the good life with a home in London, a villa in Portugal and "at least a box of Havana cigars."

The Telegraph said it had not claimed that the allegations contained in the documents it published were true, merely that they raised matters that needed investigating in the public interest.

Judge Eady dismissed the newspaper's claims that it was obliged to put them into the public domain.

"In all the circumstances, it cannot be said that the defendants were under a social or moral duty to make the allegations about Mr. Galloway at that time and without any attempt at verification," he said.

© Copyright 2004 Reuters Ltd

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