Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Blair defends decision to call off fraud probe as discontent grows

Blair defends decision to call off fraud probe as discontent grows
Intervention to stop SFO vital to preserve national security and trade,
says PM 
Will Woodward, chief political correspondent
Friday June 8, 2007
The Guardian 
Tony Blair insisted yesterday that reports of payments totalling £1bn to
Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia by the arms giant BAE Systems made no
difference to his view that it was right to end the Serious Fraud Office
investigation into the company.
The prime minister refused to be drawn on the details of the Guardian
story and reiterated the diplomatic and business arguments for calling an
end to the corruption probe.
"I'm not going to comment on the individual allegations and a lot of this
relates to things that go back to the 1980s," he said. "This
investigation, if it had gone ahead, would have involved the most serious
allegations and investigation being made of the Saudi royal family and my
job is to give advice as to whether that is a sensible thing in
circumstances where I don't believe the investigation would have led to
anywhere except to the complete wreckage of a vital interest to our
country. We would have lost thousands, thousands of British jobs."
Despite renewed pressure from senior Liberal Democrats and demands for a
statement in the House of Commons, No 10 and Jack Straw, the leader of the
Commons, refused several times to elaborate on the prime minister's
remarks.
Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "In terms of the allegations, we are
not going to comment on it. It is a matter for others, not for us. It is a
fact that there are implications for jobs but it is not the reason why we
reached the decision we did ... the attorney general looked at this case
and decided a successful prosecution was unlikely. The prime minister
offered, as is his duty, his assessment of the threat to national
security."
None of the candidates for Labour's deputy leadership was prepared to
comment and the Conservatives were also reluctant to enter the fray.
The £40bn al-Yamamah deal to supply the Saudis with more than 100 Tornado
and Hawk warplanes was originally agreed by Margaret Thatcher's
Conservative government in 1985.
Yesterday Mr Straw clashed with David Howarth, the Lib Dem MP for
Cambridge, during heated exchanges in the Commons. Mr Howarth told MPs:
"The government called off the inquiry for reasons of national security
but it now turns out that the threat to national security was the threat
of withdrawal of cooperation from the very same quarter that was subject
to investigation for corruption. Isn't it simply shameful and
dishonourable to give way to that sort of pressure?"
Mr Straw replied: "The world is not perfect ... the government faces a
choice of seeing cooperation on national security being withdrawn, and it
rightly made the judgment. We face some very serious terrorist threats. We
vitally need cooperation as we have received, from among others, the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the prime minister was absolutely right in
not seeking to jeopardise that."
Tory MP Michael Jack, whose Flyde constituency includes a BAE factory,
told Mr Straw that "many of our constituents will be feeling great
uncertainty about the deal as a result of the impending Panorama programme
and of the exposé in today's edition of the Guardian".
The Labour MP Roger Berry, who chairs the Commons quadripartite committee
on arms deals, told Radio 4's Today programme: "These matters need to be
properly investigated. It's bad for British business, apart from anything
else, if allegations of bribery popping around aren't investigated."
Unanswered questions: 
· Which senior civil servants within the MoD knew about the payments being
made to Prince Bandar in connection with Britain's biggest ever arms deal?
· Did they make ministers aware of the transfers, either orally or in
briefings?
· At what point did the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, learn of the
payments?
· Did Tony Blair, or any of his Downing Street officials, know about them
when the decision was being taken to abandon the Serious Fraud Office
inquiry into BAE?
· Did Gordon Brown, as chancellor, or any of his Treasury officials, know
about the Bandar money, which was channelled through a Bank of England
account?
Cast of characters: 
Prince Bandar
At centre of allegations that BAE paid him more than £1bn in connection
with the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal. Saudi ambassador to US for 22 years.
Close to world leaders, including George Bush.
Prince Sultan
Prince Bandar's father has been the Saudi defence minister since 1962 and
is the crown prince, the anointed successor to the king. Closely involved
in negotiating the al-Yamamah deal with BAE since the mid-1980s.
Lord Goldsmith
Attorney general who in December announced the Serious Fraud Office had
halted inquiry into BAE's Saudi deals. He insists that the decision was
taken not by him but by Robert Wardle, head of the SFO.
Tony Blair
Put pressure on Mr Wardle to drop criminal investigation. When it was
finally stopped, Mr Blair took full responsibility, claiming the inquiry
could have provoked years of "ill-feeling" with Saudi Arabia, a crucial
ally.
Robert Wardle
Head of SFO since 2003. Began inquiry into BAE in 2004, but came under
pressure from BAE and others to stop it. Pressed at least seven times by
the prime minister, BAE and British ambassador to Saudi Arabia before he
finally agreed to call it off.
Sir Richard Evans
Made his name by securing the al-Yamamah deal which brought billions into
BAE at a time when it was struggling. He was knighted and went on to run
BAE between 1990 and 2004.
ah la fonte stavolta è quella monnezza di estrema destra, come lo è
l'Unità del resto, del Guardian . questo tanto per informare degli
scroto-londinesi che frequentano il ng.
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 Blair defends decision to call off fraud probe as discontent grows
(finalmente un giornale di sinistra, che è successo?)
La BBC ha fatto un paio di inchieste anche lei su questa faccenda,
dovrebbero essere disponibili come podcast di Newsnight e Panorama.
Fra l'altro Blair (e Brown, che sembra essere allineato su questa
faccenda) rischia di dover fronteggiare un'altra pesante rivolta interna
dei backbenchers.

 (finalmente un giornale di sinistra, che è successo?)
ma l'unità non lo è piu'? vabbè che ora i ds si sono sciolti e sono
confluiti nel PD
 
-- 
visitate 
http://www.comunisti-italiani.it/frames/index.htm
 
5 per mille all'Associazione di amicizia Italia-Cuba cod.fis. 96233920584 


 ma l'unità non lo è piu'? 
Non so - ma il Daily Heil e il Daily Torygraph che l'Unità
occasionalmente cita quando la copincolli non lo sono di sicuro


fallo presente a padellaro e a colombo, no?

 fallo presente a padellaro e a colombo, no?
Sono forse io il custode di mio fratello?
La vita è fatta di priorità: quelle di Padellaro e Colombo evidentemente
sono di riportare certe notizie senza controllare le fonti. La mia NON è
di farglielo presente.

 Sono forse io il custode di mio fratello?
Conoscere la bibbia non t'ha impedito di essere come sei, allora...
<g>
Palmiro Pangloss

 Sono forse io il custode di mio fratello?
ma visto che ti prendi la briga e fai notare certe cose qui sul ng... 


 Hai
per come sei cretino sei imbarazzante perfino per i tuoi amichetti per
cui porgi per servilismo, e non per altro,  il culo.

 ma visto che ti prendi la briga e fai notare certe cose qui sul ng... 
E si rosica