Corruption is a Crime

Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrats’ Shadow Internet Development Secretary, has written an article on Liberal Democrat Voice arguing that corruption in international arms deals should be taken as seriously as other crimes:

It’s the only area of crime (other than graffiti!) where - when campaigning against it - I’ve encountered a handful of people saying, “but it’s ok”.

Read the article here.

The Ministry of Defence has handed security passes to 38 BAE employees, giving them acccess to the MoD headquarters at will. The discovery was made by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, who criticised the arrangement.

“This demonstrates that there is far too close a relationship between the Ministry of Defence and BAE. This incestuous and potentially corrupting relationship must be brought to an end. BAE’s lobbying muscle helped to bring an end to a major corruption inquiry, which is totally unacceptable.”

The Guardian says that the ministry won’t reveal why the BAE staff were given the passes, or to whom they were given:

However, it is known that one has been held by BAE’s chief lobbyist, Julian Scopes. The pass gave him access to the top levels of the ministry, enabling him to lobby ministers and senior officials and promote BAE’s commercial interests.
[...]
It has also emerged that BAE staff have been given passes by two other Whitehall ministries in recent years - two from the trade department and one from the Foreign Office. Critics have claimed that BAE wields huge influence over the government through privileged access and lobbying. BAE has hired politicians, such as the former defence secretary Michael Portillo, and former officials including Charles Powell, Margaret Thatcher’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The company regularly gives jobs to former MoD officials - 33 in the last 18 months.

Read the full story of the Guardian site.