Labour faces visit from anti-corruption investigators
Anti-corruption investigators are to be sent to the UK to dig into why the Labour Government axed the investigation into allegations of corruption by British Aerospace in the Al Yamamah arms deal.
In what will be a major embarrassment to Labour’s claims to be tough on crime, the OECD has decided it needs to send a team to make on-site inquiries into Labour’s highly controversial decision.
The OECD says it has “serious concerns” over the case and that legal changes are required to bring Britain’s anti-corruption measures up to scratch. The Liberal Democrats have been pushing for a full independent inquiry into why the charges were dropped - and you can sign our petition on the right to add your voice to the campaign.
The Associated Press has more on the story as does the OECD’s own website.
UPDATE: Lib Dem MP Vince Cable says:
This news is particularly significant as it represents the views of other western governments, all of whom are trying to implement anti-bribery legislation. These countries clearly believe their attempts to tackle bribery are being undermined by the refusal of the British Government to pursue a prosecution.
Posted in BAE, Vince Cable |
March 15th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
[...] that the OECD is sending investigators to London, Sarah pointed out that the lack of response from the EU over the dropping of the SFO investigation [...]