KEY POINTS:
Dick Olver, the chairman of BAE Systems, stated for the first time yesterday that the company had not paid bribes to secure a £40 billion ($108.5 billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia as the affair dominated the annual shareholders meeting of Britain's biggest defence company.
In a sign that BAE is seeking to move onto the front foot, Olver rebutted allegations that the Al Yamamah deal was mired in corrupution and won only because of secret payments to Saudi royals.
He also defended the Attorney-General's decision in December to stop a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the claims amid repeated calls from shareholders for the inquiry to be reopened.
Quoting Lord Goldsmith's assessment that the 2 1/2-year SFO investigation into the allegations had been "doomed to failure", Olver commented: "In my language that means no case to answer."
BAE's determination to lay the saga to rest has been given urgency by private polling showing that media coverage of allegations was threatening to cause severe damage to the company's reputation.
- INDEPENDENT
