Canada judge upholds ban on British pro-Hamas MP

A judge on Monday upheld a government order banning an outspoken anti-war British lawmaker from visiting Canada for a speaking tour.

The government refused entry to Parliament member George Galloway on national security grounds, saying he provided money to the Palestinian group Hamas, which is banned in Canada as a terrorist organization.

Federal Court Justice Luc Martineau denied a request for an injunction to allow Galloway in to begin his speaking tour. The judge said in a written ruling that he was not willing to exempt Galloway from Canada's Immigrations laws.

Galloway vigorously denied any suggestion of terrorism support in a video speech aired to supporters at a Toronto church Monday night, saying he gave money and aid to help the people of Gaza, not for terrorism.

"I am not a supporter of Hamas," he said. "But I am a supporter of democracy."

Galloway is well known in Britain for his ardent opposition to the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. He was recently awarded an honorary Palestinian passport in a secret meeting with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, whose office released a photo of the two men embracing.

In 2005, Galloway created a spectacle on Capitol Hill in Washington by denouncing U.S. senators while testifying before a committee that accused his political organization of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.N. oil-for-food allocations from Saddam Hussein. He denied the allegation.

Alykhan Velshi, a spokesman for Canadian immigration minister, said border officials made the decision to bar Galloway on the grounds he is a national security threat, saying he has given financial support to Hamas.

In a letter to Galloway, the government said the lawmaker delivered humanitarian goods to war-torn Gaza and gave $45,000 to Hamas.

Galloway has called the ban outrageous, saying Canada should support freedom of speech.