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. The case had been brought by CAAT and The Corner House with widespread support.

The Serious Fraud Office's appeal was heard by the House of Lords on the 7th and 8th of July and 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 result as it has brought the whole issue into the public realm and clarified the law. Read our initial statement.

A timeline of developments during throughout the whole legal challenge is available and includes links to key legal and background documents.

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