Mandelson Calls for Rover Apology
BBC: Lord Mandelson has called for the businessmen who ran MG Rover prior to its 2005 collapse to apologise for taking so much money out of the firm.

The business secretary said the so-called Phoenix Four, who bought Rover for £10 in 2000, had "feathered their own nests" during their time in charge.

A report found the men pocketed an "unreasonable" £42m in pay and perks.

The Phoenix Four blame Labour for Rover's collapse but Lord Mandelson said ministers had been "faultless".

'No humility'

And he rejected criticism that ministers had not done enough to try and save the firm, whose collapse cost more than 6,000 jobs.

However, opposition parties criticised the government for allowing the group to take control of MG Rover in the first place.

Earlier this year, the Serious Fraud Office chose not to pursue a criminal investigation into Rover's collapse and the conduct of the Phoenix Four. >>> | Friday, September 11, 2009

Watch BBC video: Lord Mandelson: "We've not seen an ounce of humility from them" >>>

Saudi Arabia, Al-Yamamah Contract and Corruption: The Serious Fraud Office Acted Unlawfully
The judges had harsh words for the attitude of the SFO and the Blair government in never even considering the option of telling the Saudis their threats would be ignored.

"No one suggested to those uttering the threat that it was futile, that the United Kingdom's system of democracy forbad pressure being exerted on an independent prosecutor whether by the domestic executive or by anyone else; no-one even hinted that the courts would strive to protect the rule of law and protect the independence of the prosecutor by striking down any decision he might be tempted to make in submission to the threat."
THE GUARDIAN: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully in dropping an investigation into alleged bribery in an arms deal between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia, the high court ruled today.

In a stunning victory for the activist groups that launched the legal challenge, the two judges said Tony Blair's government and the SFO caved in too readily to threats by Saudi Arabia over intelligence sharing and trade.

Lord Justice Moses and Justice Sullivan, using some scathing language, rejected the SFO's argument that it was powerless to resist the Saudi threats.

"So bleak a picture of the impotence of the law invites at least dismay, if not outrage," they said.

"Had such a threat been made by one who was subject to the criminal law of this country, he would risk being charged with an attempt to pervert the course of justice."

To give in so easily, the judges said, "merely encourages those with power, in a position of strategic and political importance, to repeat such threats, in the knowledge that the courts will not interfere with the decision of a prosecutor to surrender".

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and Corner House Research had sought a review of the decision by the SFO director, Robert Wardle, in December 2006 to drop the investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption over the £43bn Al-Yamamah arms deal, agreed by the Thatcher government in 1985.

"No one, whether in this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice," Moses and Sullivan ruled. SFO Wrong to Drop BAE Inquiry, Court Rules >>> By Peter Walker and agencies | April 10, 2008

THE GUARDIAN:
The Complet High Court Judgement

Summary of High Court Judgement

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FINANCIAL TIMES:
UK ‘Unlawfully’ Scrapped BAE Probe: ”No-one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice,” Lord Justice Moses told the court. “We intervene in fulfilment of our responsibility to protect the independence of the director and of our criminal justice system from threat.“ By Megan Murphy, Law Courts Correspondent | April 10, 2008

BBC:
SFO Unlawful in Ending BAE Probe

Cross-posted at A New Dark Age Is Dawning

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The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback)

Secret Papers Reveal Threats from Prince Bandar If British Government Refused to Drop Inquiry into Corruption at BAE
Photo of Prince Bandar, head of Saudi Arabia’s national security, courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.

He was accused in yesterday's high court hearings of flying to London in December 2006 and uttering threats which made the prime minister, Tony Blair, force an end to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery allegations involving Bandar and his family.

The threats halted the fraud inquiry, but triggered an international outcry, with allegations that Britain had broken international anti-bribery treaties.

Lord Justice Moses, hearing the civil case with Mr Justice Sullivan, said the government appeared to have "rolled over" after the threats. He said one possible view was that it was "just as if a gun had been held to the head" of the government.

The SFO investigation began in 2004, when Robert Wardle, its director, studied evidence unearthed by the Guardian. This revealed that massive secret payments were going from BAE to Saudi Arabian princes, to promote arms deals.

Yesterday, anti-corruption campaigners began a legal action to overturn the decision to halt the case. They want the original investigation restarted, arguing the government had caved into blackmail. BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince - Spectre of 'another 7/7' led Tony Blair to block bribes inquiry, high court told >>> By David Leigh and Rob Evans

LISTEN TO GUARDIAN AUDIO:
'It was remarkable the way the government had just rolled over': Two pressure groups are appealing against the decision to drop an investigation into BAE's dealings with Saudi Arabia

THE GUARDIAN:
A cover-up laid bare: court hears how SFO inquiry was halted: Papers show how arms giant tried to avoid revealing secrets; Saudi threats meant 'no other choice' but to stop investigation

THE GUARDIAN:
Full Coverage: The BAE Files

DAILY MAIL:
Blair accused of forcing BAE fraud probe to fold by applying 'irresistible pressure

THE INDEPENDENT:
Blair used 'irresistible pressure' to halt investigation into BAE-Saudi arms deal By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)