The Mariam Appeal ("the Appeal") was a political campaign in the United Kingdom (UK) established in 1998 which ceased operation in 2003. The objects of the Appeal as stated in its constitution were "to provide medicines, medical equipment and medical assistance to the people of Iraq; to highlight the causes and results of the cancer epidemic in Iraq and to arrange for the medical treatment of a number of Iraqi children outside Iraq". The campaign was founded by the politician George Galloway, then a member of parliament, Princess Sarvath, wife of then Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan, was patron of the Appeal. The Mariam Appeal was intended "to campaign against sanctions on Iraq which are having disastrous effects on the ordinary people of Iraq." The campaign was named after Mariam Hamza, a child flown by the fund from Iraq to Britain to receive treatment for leukaemia. The intention was to raise awareness of the suffering and death of tens of thousands of other Iraqi children due to poor health conditions and lack of suitable medicines and facilities, and to campaign for the lifting of the sanctions seen by many as a direct cause of those problems. Among the activities undertaken was a daily newsletter on sanctions, a sanctions-busting flight to Baghdad, the Big Ben to Baghdad trip in a red London bus, meetings and conferences, the projection of an anti-war slogan on the House of Commons, and the facilitating of trips to Iraq by dozens of journalists. Investigations The fund received scrutiny during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after a complaint to the office of the Attorney General for England and Wales that Galloway used some of the donation money to pay his travel expenses. Galloway, however, denied that he had misused any funds raised for the Mariam Appeal and pointed out that it was reasonable for money from a campaign fund to be used to pay for the travel expenses of campaigners. Over the next four years Galloway faced several investigations related to the Appeal including the Oil-for-Food Program Hearings. Charity Commission investigations The Mariam Appeal was investigated by the Charity Commission on more than one occasion. Although the Appeal was not a registered charity, the commission had jurisdiction to take action on funds raised in England and Wales on charitable grounds. The report of the first, year-long, inquiry was published in June 2004. The Charity Commission took the