UK: Blair’s cash for peerages and BAE arms corruption scandals

The cartoon is based on this painting about the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

From British daily The Independent:

No 10 linked to arms firm inquiry

By Marie Woolf, Political Editor

Published: 20 May 2007

Police investigating allegations of bribery by one of Britain’s biggest defence firms asked to look at emails sent to and from Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff.

The police were acting on suspicion that Lord Powell, his brother, who is an adviser to BAE Systems, lobbied Downing Street aides to have a fraud investigation stopped.

Police asked detectives working on the cash-for-honours inquiry for access to the No 10 emails to check if the brothers had communicated about the affair, but they were denied for legal reasons.

Charles Powell said that he discussed the investigation with “senior government officials” and that it was “perfectly possible” this included his brother, according to The Sunday Times.

He said he had “occasionally” spoken to BAE and the Saudi royal family about the fraud investigation.

Cash for honours scandal: here.

Blair’s ‘ethical foreign policy’ legacy: arms exports.