Britain damaged by dropping arms deal inquiry

By Graeme Wilson, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:34am BST 30/04/2007
Britain's reputation on the world stage suffered "severe damage" when ministers halted a corruption inquiry into an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a Commons committee has said.
The decision also undermined Britain's ability to challenge the Saudi regime about its record on issues such as human rights.
The Commons foreign affairs committee's verdict followed the controversy at the end of last year when Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, announced that the Serious Fraud Office was dropping its long-running inquiry into BAE's multi-billion pound al-Yamamah arms deal.
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The decision followed a Saudi threat to cancel a £10 billion order for new Typhoon fighters, a move which threatened thousands of jobs in the defence industry.
Despite widespread criticism, Tony Blair defended the decision by arguing earlier this year that the SFO inquiry would have had a "devastating" impact on Britain's relations with Saudi Arabia if it had carried on.
However, the Labour-dominated foreign affairs committee said the Government's decision had widespread implications for the UK's international standing.
"We conclude that the Government's decision to halt the inquiry into the al-Yamamah arms deal may have caused severe damage to the reputation of the United Kingdom in the fight against corruption.

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