George Galloway's statement

I should like to correct a number of, I suspect, deliberately misleading comments in this morning's newspapers about my personal property, income etc.

"Firstly, my converted farmhouse, jointly owned with my wife Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, in the Algarve was purchased for ?82,000 in 1998.

"It was mortgaged to the tune of ?76,000. Although I have through my own hands and that of my family much improved it it is in no way capable of bearing the description worth "a quarter of a million pounds" in some of today's papers.

"Secondly, I do not pay the mortgage on my ex-wife's London home. She does not have a mortgage and does not own property in London or elsewhere.

"Thirdly, I do not own a '?190,000 flat' in my Glasgow constituency. I do not own any property in Glasgow.

"Fourthly, my house in Streatham, jointly owned with my wife Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad [in] south-west London, was bought for ?220,000 in 1996. It is currently mortgaged to the tune of ?290,000 as a result of home improvements and renovation. It is not worth ?800,000 as stated in today's newspapers; it was very recently valued as being worth ?500,000.

"As the register of members interests makes clear, in addition to my salary as an MP I earn a substantial amount of money as a journalist. I hope my journalistic efforts are more accurate than those mentioned above."