Galloway tweeted that he has sued for libel at least 20 times and that he’s won every time he has sued. (He ignored repeated questions about how many times he has silenced people by threatening to sue.)
The BBC reported one win in December 2004, against the Telegraph.
MP George Galloway has won £150,000 in libel damages from the Daily Telegraph over claims he received money from Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.
The Glasgow Kelvin MP had denied ever seeking or receiving money from Saddam Hussein’s government, which he said he had long opposed.
The newspaper said it was in the public interest to publish the claims, based on documents found in Baghdad.
It’s a curious thing – I’ve found other headlines about his filing of suits, but not about his winning any. Maybe I haven’t dug deep enough yet.
It is quite believable to me. Galloway is a name that the tabloids have discovered sells papers. So they are quite happy paying out a GBP 20K libel settlement if it makes for a front page story. Galloway wins getting publicity and a pay out, the tabloids win, the lawyers win.
If he demanded too much then they would stop writing about him altogether. There is a list of UK celebs who are known to sue that the tabloids won’t go after.