I am delighted with the news that Campaign Against Arms Trade and The Corner House have WON their Judicial Review! The High Court has ruled that the Government acted unlawfully when it curtailed a corruption investigation into BAE Systems' Al Yamamah arms deals with Saudi Arabia. Great news indeed - no one is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice - we have seen a gross failure of government - are we getting closer to the day when BAE doesn't call the shots??
The full text of the judgment, as well as the judges' summary and the CAAT press release is available on our website http://www.caat.org.uk
As a result of this judgment the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will have to reconsider the decision to end the investigation. CAAT, Greens and many others are now calling on Gordon Brown to make a commitment that there will be NO FURTHER GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.
Please sign the petition urging Gordon Brown to make a commitment that there will be no further government interference into the SFO's investigation into the Al Yamamah arms deals. The petition can be found at this link:
http://www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/controlBAE/petition/petition.php
Here is what Lord Justice Moses and Justice Sullivan said when they 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. 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) 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".
See The Guardian report here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/10/bae.armstrade
See previous blogs on this topic by clicking here and then scrolling down.
No comments:
Post a Comment