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Saudi Arabia is said to have threatened to cancel a Eurofighter order The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has argued that it did not act unlawfully when it halted its investigation into a £43bn Saudi arms deal. It is appealing against a High Court ruling that the decision to end the corruption inquiry in the face of Saudi threats was unlawful. Saudi Arabia had threatened to withdraw cooperation on counter-terrorism issues if the inquiry had continued. The SFO said national security would have been "damaged" by proceeding. Jonathan Sumption QC, representing the SFO, told the Law Lords that "the critical issue was whether a prosecutor may not comply with a demand which has been supported by threats". He argued that it was not the threat itself which was critical to the SFO Director's thinking, but its impact on national security if... [read full story]
