BAE-Saudi probe slides after security concerns
BAE is currently supplying Saudi Arabia with 72 Eurofighters
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Thursday, 14, Dec 2006 08:12
A corruption inquiry into a £6 billion arms deal between Britain's largest defence firm and Saudi Arabia has been dropped by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The attorney general told the House of Lords that the probe was being "discontinued" after Tony Blair raised concerns that it was damaging relations with the Middle Eastern country, thus harming national security.
BAE Systems' al-Yamamah fighter plane deal had been investigated by the SFO amid allegations that the Saudi royal family was using a private account to siphon off funds, claims that both the defence firm and Saudi Arabia denies.
Lord Goldsmith told peers that the prime minister and defence secretary Des Browne agreed that the inquiry should be dropped in the interests of safeguarding "national and international security".
The attorney general explained that ministers had "expressed the clear view that continuation of the investigation would cause serious damage to UK-Saudi security, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation, which is likely to have seriously negative consequences for the UK public interest in terms of both national security and our highest priority foreign policy objectives in the Middle East".
"It has been necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest. No weight has been given to commercial interests or to the national economic interest," he went on to say.
BAE is thought to have earned more than £40 billion from its 20-year contract with Saudi Arabia, with the firm currently supplying the country with more than 70 Eurofighter planes.