http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2bb1a25e-b0d0-11db-8a62-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=89048496-2f6a-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html
Documents link BAE with Tanzania arms bribes, Short says By Christopher Adams,Political Correspondent Published: January 31 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 31 2007 02:00 Clare Short, the former international development secretary, claimed last night she had been told by fraud investigators they had documents showing there was bribery in an arms deal involving the supply of an air-traffic control system by BAE Systems to Tanzania. The allegation, made during a House of Commons debate on the controversial cabinet decision in 2001 to approve the sale, came as Hilary Benn, the current international development secretary, conceded there were "lessons to be learnt". ADVERTISEMENT He added that ministers would look at whether controls on arms brokers should be tightened as part of a forthcoming review of the Export Control Act. Mr Benn refused to comment on the Serious Fraud Office investigation but he appeared to suggest that, as a junior development minister at the time, he had shared Ms Short's original concerns about the deal when the export licence was granted. "I was a loyal and supportive parliamentary undersecretary" to Ms Short, he said, and added: "At the point at which the government took a decision about the licence, there was then a collective decision, which it was and is the duty of all members of the government to support." Ms Short, in an intervention after a Labour MP challenged the Liberal Democrats to back up a claim of "alleged bribery" against BAE, said: "The SFO came to see me and said they have documents showing there was bribery." She did not elaborate on the details of this meeting. Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzanian president, confirmed this month that the SFO had visited his country as part of its probe into the purchase of the air-traffic control -system. The Guardian newspaper has reported that BAE Systems allegedly made secret payments of $12m into a Swiss account to cement the deal, representing 30 per cent commission charged on top of the price. BAE has said it is fully co-operating with the investigation and has denied any wrongdoing. Ms Short, who had argued against the Tanzanian deal in cabinet on the grounds that it would undermine sustainable development in Tanzania, said all those involved in it "should be deeply ashamed". She said the deal was "a particularly sordid example of the UK approach to arms sales". "I'm well aware, indeed hopeful, that the current investigation into this case by the Serious Fraud Office might result in criminal charges. "That will be decided elsewhere. What is important here is for UK politicians to learn the lessons of the reality of UK arms sale policy and make real changes so that similar deals are not supported in future." The SFO had no comment to make last night. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
