Did Attorney General order Al Yamamah cover-up?
That’s what The Guardian is claiming today regarding the Al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia:
British investigators were ordered by the attorney-general Lord Goldsmith to conceal from international anti-bribery watchdogs the existence of payments totalling more than £1bn to a Saudi prince.
The story also goes on to say:
The Guardian’s disclosure of British government complicity in the alleged payment of £1bn to [Saudi Arabian] Prince Bandar caused international concern yesterday … Neither Mr Blair nor the Ministry of Defence made any attempt to deny the allegations revealed by the Guardian.
The background is that the £1 billion payments are alleged to have been bribes to ensure that Saudi Arabia purchsed arms from the UK - through the Al Yamamah arms deal - rather than from other countries.
Posted in Al Yamamah, BAE, Lord Goldsmith |
June 9th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
The links between this deal and the Conservatives’ finances are very questionable - as even a few Conservatives are relucntantly starting to admit: http://conservativehome.blogs......t_wil.html
June 11th, 2007 at 11:43 am
What new low can this current Government sink to? True to tell this revelation does not surprise me.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
This has been running for a long time and I’m delighted that we are not letting it go. The government’s reasoning is preposterous. The argument about jobs is weak. We would not hesitate to crack down on other activities which were illegal even if they employed people.
I experienced considerable bullying by one MP during a debate when I referred to the Guardian story which was just breaking. Indeed the member suggested that he would personally see that I lost my seat! There are so many ways which this government has identified which criminalise young people and yet mcuh greater crimes are allowed to go unchecked.