Gordon Brown is letting the courts decide over the allegations that BAE Systems, the largest defence manufacturer in the United Kingdom, bribed to win contracts.
Sources from Senior Downing Street said that Brown was taking himself out of the case. It is believed that officials rejected a plea from BAE for Brown to intervene.
Yesterday, the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) ultimatum for BAE to agree to a settlement expired. The agency declared that it will focus on pursuing the claims that BAE paid millions for defence contracts in the Czech Republic, Tanzania, Romania, and South Africa.
”The Serious Fraud Office has announced today that it intends to seek the Attorney-General’s consent to prosecute BAE Systems for offences relating to overseas corruption”, sources said.
BAE executives are said to be angered by SFO director Richard Alderman’s extreme means. They believe that further negotiation is still possible and that the plea bargain terms offered to them are unacceptable. The terms include BAE’s acknowledgement that they are guilty of corruption and a fine of up to £500 million.
In a statement released yesterday, BAE said, “If the director of the SFO obtains the consent that he seeks from the Attorney-General and proceedings are commenced, the company will deal with any issues raised in those proceedings at the appropriate time and, if necessary, in court”.
Downing Street states that it will not help BAE. An aide said, “Gordon Brown is a different Prime Minister and even if we wanted to get involved, we don’t believe this case carries national security implications”.
