BAE Systems

Mr. Meacher
To ask the Solicitor-General what account was taken of Article 5 of the 1977 Convention on Bribery of the OECD when the decision was made to cease the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BAE.

The Solicitor-General
My statement on 14 December 2006 explained that the decision to discontinue the investigation was taken by the director of the SFO. The SFO is subject to the statutory superintendence of the Attorney-General. The SFO and the Attorney-General at all times had regard to the requirements of the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.