JOHN Howard has conceded there are inconsistencies in Liberal senator Ross Lightfoot’s accounts of his election observer mission to northern Iraq but has again refused to launch an investigation.

Senator Lightfoot is embroiled in a scandal after News Limited papers reported allegations on Wednesday that he smuggled $US20,000 ($25,000) on behalf of Australian oil giant Woodside Petroleum as a donation to an Iraqi children’s hospital in January and that he was packing a .38-calibre pistol at the time.

It has also been revealed since the allegations were first raised that Senator Lightfoot told The Weekend Australian’s Middle East correspondent, Nicolas Rothwell, at a breakfast meeting on January 30, the day of the Iraqi elections, he had handed over a “small contribution” from Woodside because he believed “it was the right thing to do”.

Senator Lightfoot has since denied the smuggling claims in a statement to parliament.

And his revised claim that the $US20,000 was carried in by a Kurdish government official, Simko Halmet, travelling with him, were supported yesterday when Mr Halmet said Senator Lightfoot had no knowledge of it until the money changed hands.

But several versions of what Senator Lightfoot did with a gun lent to him by his security detail on the trip prompted Mr Howard to concede his account had been confusing.

“I would agree, having listened to the interviews, that there were some differences of emphasis,” Mr Howard said.

“But the real issue — and that is the smuggling — he just denies that and that is at variance from what the journalists said.”

Mr Howard said the only new information of any substance was from Mr Halmet.

Mr Halmet said yesterday the money was never in Senator Lightfoot’s possession.

“He didn’t know that I have to deliver the money except when we met the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) Prime Minister,” Mr Halmet said. Woodside had contacted KRG in Iraq wishing to make a donation to the Halabja hospital in northern Iraq. He said they then made the donation of $US20,000 which had been placed in his bank account.

Because of the lack of any banking, transfer or internet facilities in Iraq at the time and the chaos in the country it was impossible to simply transfer the money and it had to be done by hand.

But Mr Halmet contradicted Senator Lightfoot’s assertion that Mr Halmet had sewn the money into his coat pocket. The Opposition has demanded an inquiry into the affair, warning Senator Lightfoot may have breached Australian financial transaction reporting guidelines on taking cash out of Australia.

The Greens have asked for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to investigate his purchase and sale of Woodsideshares at the time he was engaged in helping make favourable donations to Kurdish authorities.

Editorial — Page 18