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The Saudi Arms Deal
The High Court has struck a blow for the defence of the rule of law, but at what cost?
Nobody, least of all a foreign government, should be allowed to dictate the course of a criminal investigation, yet the high Court has ruled that that is exactly what happened in December 2006, when the Government – at the behest of the Saudi royal family – leaned on the Serious Fraud Office to halt a bribery probe into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal with BAE Systems.
The judges didn't mince their words. They declared that caving in to Saudi threats, which included withholding intelligence and junking a lucrative new jet-fighter deal, was an unlawful act of abject surrender. They were right. This judgement is a victory for the rule of law over a hypocritical and expedient administration.
It's typical of the liberal metropolitan elite to react with such pious righteousness. In fact, pulling the plug o this pointless probe – designed to drag the reputation of our leading defence contractor through the mud – was one of the few things Tony Blair ever got right.
There's now clamour for the investigation to be reopened, but no one seems to care that thousands of jobs and our national security may be at risk. Yes, the law must be respected, but British economic and strategic interests have to be respected to, and Tony Blair had powerful reasons to put realpolitik first.
He certainly wasn't the first to do so. Margaret Thatcher considered the huge 1985 al-Yamamah deal so important that she ordered MI5 to bug the Saudis to stop them handing it to the French. Subsequent revelations – such as the slush fund BAE allegedly set up to entertain the Saudis, and the alleged £1bn paid to Prince Bandar bin Sultan – were merely a continuation of the same policy.
Given that bribery is so endemic in its target markets, BAE (which also faces probes for its dealings in Africa and the US) could argue that it's commercially suicidal not to play ball. The City seems to agree, yet there are powerful commercial counter-arguments against turning a blind eye to corruption.
BAE's hopes of growing in the giant US market have taken a severe knock. Moreover, modern Britain's prosperity lies in the hands of the new merchant adventurers: the bankers, lawyers and accountants who trade, above all, on our international reputation for integrity.
BAE should pledge to reform a corporate culture too over-dependent on cosy relationships. Whatever the implications of this ruling for Anglo-Saudi relations, the long-term health of British justice is more important. It is the bedrock of British civilisation – and prosperity.
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