What was the oil-for-food programme? Started in 1996, the programme allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food, medicines and other essential products to ease the impact of sanctions on the Iraqi population. The programme, which the United Nations ran until the US invasion in 2003, oversaw $64bn (€50bn, £34bn) in Iraqi oil sales. The UN says it nearly doubled the average Iraqi's daily food intake.

What are the allegations? The allegations are threefold: