HALF of the 4,500 companies in the UN oil-for-food programme, including Volvo and Daimler Chrysler, paid €1.5 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges to Saddam Hussein’s government, a UN report has concluded.

Former UK Labour MP George Galloway will appear before a US Senate committee to defend himself against accusations that he received vouchers for millions of barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein.