The story runs and runs and almost each day brings a new aspect of the issue. It involves the UK Government, BAE, corruption, Saudi Princes, massive payments apparently sanctioned by the UK Government for such things as an airbus for a prince, weddings, call girls, a honeymoon etc, anger by the US Government and likely action by the US Justice Dept and US Congress against BAE (this is partly because US companies may have lost out on lucrative contracts in competition with BAE because they have tougher laws against corruption), involvement of OECD who are also angered that the UK Government has yet to prosecute anyone successfully under the OECD Anti-Corruption Convention, halting by SFO of its investigation into the Saudi / BAE corruption supposedly for 'national interests' a catch all for governments trying to hide something, although the SFO continues, with a few other fraud offices abroad, to investigate other BAE corruption allegations involving other countries.
The Guardian and BBC have done a lot of digging into the mire - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2007/06/ethics_man_at_bae.html and http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles .
This story will run and run well beyond Bliar leaving office. It would be apt if one day Bliar, Goldsmith, Hoon and Browne answered for their deeds in a court of law.
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