Latest Campaign News
The House of Lords has overturned the High Court's ruling that the Government broke the law by stopping the corruption investigation into BAE Systems' Saudi arms deals.
Background
In December 2006 the UK government stopped a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into corrupt allegations surrounding BAE Systems' arms deals with Saudi Arabia, citing its reason as 'national security'. This was at a time when the SFO had gained access to Swiss bank accounts relating to Saudi officials, thus putting at risk a new BAE deal to sell Eurofighters to that country.
In response to the government's actions, CAAT launched the Control BAE campaign, and together with The Corner House, a social justice research organisation, sought a Judicial Review of the decision.
The High Court ruled in our favour in April, ruling to decision to stop the investigation unlawful. The Serious Fraud Office's appealled, with a House of Lords hearing on the 7th and 8th of July. Judgment was given on 30th July.
One of the judges, Baroness Hale, said that she would have liked to have been able to say that it was wrong to stop the investigation as it was "extremely distasteful that an independent public official should feel himself obliged to give way to threats of any sort." However, she had to agree with her colleagues that the decision taken by the SFO Director was lawful.
The judgment means that those with powerful friends prepared to make threats can effectively evade justice, particularly if the threats are couched in terms of national security. The ruling also confirms that the UK government has driven a coach and horses through a key international anti-bribery convention to protect its friends in BAE.
CAAT and The Corner House are not dejected by the judgment as the case has brought the whole issue into the public realm and clarified the law.
For more information about the legal proceedings, click here.
The campaign goes on
Whilst the legal action is over, the campaigning continues. There are ideas below.
Sign our Mutual Legal Assistance Petition asking the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP, to co-operate with the US Department of Justice investigations into BAE Systems' arms deals with Saudi Arabia.
Order Control BAE campaign materials, including postcards and hard copy petitions, and use them to involve your friends, family and neighbours in the campaign.
Write to your MP asking him or her to raise the issue of revising the clauses in the draft Constitutional Renewal bill with Gordon Brown. We have posted a sample letter with the points which we think are crucial, for your use.
Sign our Constitutional Renewal Bill Petition asking the Government to revise the clauses in the draft Constitutional Renewal bill that would allow politicians such as the Attorney General to halt investigations similar to the Al Yamamah one in future simply by citing "national security" and by doing so, stop any meaningful scrutiny by the courts or accountability to parliament.