In a gobsmacking expose by the BBC’s Panorama programme last week, we glimpsed the extent of the payouts from BAE Systems plc to former Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultin.
BAE Systems was formed from the £7.7 billion merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems in November 1999.
Today, we laughingly learn that BAE Systems is setting up an ethics committee. 
After I picked myself up off the floor, I dropped a line to the Oxford Dictionary people, providing them with links to both stories and asking if it was possible to include “BAE’s ethics committee” as a perfect definition of: “Oxymoron”? I’ll let you know if they reply.
Perhaps we should all look at starting up our own arms firms. After all, these bastards seem to get away with damn near ANYTHING as long as the government can claim that it’s necessary for the British economy and British jobs. All we appear to need is the official “nod and wink” from some MoD arsehole and we’re off and running!
I’ve already been online to Companies House this morning, to see if I can register either “Murderous Bastards Inc.” or “Lords of Death Ltd”. Companies house say they will let me know in due course…
Meanwhile, I figured I’d better start looking for a bloke called Ahmed and when I find him, start discussing the imminent supply of a shitload of weapons to whatever despot is willing to pay the highest price (I hear both North Korea and Iran are paying well these days).
Because as long as I grease the right palms (especially in the MoD) I won’t even need to pay taxes on my morally bankrupt, ethically void, inhumane, dirty, underhand, corrupt, sleazy little deals with likeminded scumbags from all over the world.
…and if by some remote chance the media makes a meal out of it all, I just talk in vague terms about setting up an ethics committee.
And in the unlikely event that the news results in the commencement of more formal investigations, what happens then?
Well, if it’s are anything like the investigations into the dealings of BAE, Prince Bandar and other like-minded slime of humanity, Blair and his fellow worms will simply quash it while mumbling something about “Strategic Relationship”, “Fighting Terrorism”, “Interests of our country” – or maybe all three at once.
…looks like I’m home free.
Anyone wanna buy some guns?
Update:
- A judicial review of the decision by the SFO to drop the investigation was granted on 9 November 2007.
- On 10 April 2008 the High Court ruled that the SFO “acted unlawfully” by dropping its investigation
. The Times described the ruling as “one of the most strongly worded judicial attacks on government action” which condemned how “ministers ‘buckled’ to ‘blatant threats’ that Saudi cooperation in the fight against terror would end unless the …investigation was dropped.” - On 24 April the SFO was granted leave to appeal to the House of Lords against the ruling. There was a two-day hearing before the Lords on 7 and 8 July 2008.
- On 30 July the House of Lords unanimously overturned the High Court ruling, stating that the decision to discontinue the investigation was lawful.
Update Source: Wikipedia (See Corruption investigations Section)
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