BAE seeks review of corruption inquiries

The chairman of BAE Systems called on the Serious Fraud Office yesterday to institute a wholesale review of all of the watchdog's inquiries into alleged corruption surrounding arms deals around the world before proceeding any further with the cases.

The SFO has four long-running inquiries into BAE deals in Tanzania, the Czech Republic, South Africa and Romania. It is under pressure to reopen its investigation into bribery related to the massive Al-Yamamah contract with Saudi Arabia after the High Court found it unlawfully ended that inquiry last year.

Speaking yesterday, the day of the company's annual general meeting in London, which attracted an array of protesters, Dick Olver said he was confident that BAE has "no case to answer to" on any of the inquiries and that Richard Alderman, the new head of the watchdog, should seek outside legal advice on the viability of the cases before pushing on with them. "It would be really helpful at the right time for the new man to conduct a case review with the benefit of counsel to determine whether indeed there is a case to answer. In our view, there is not," he said.

The company is whittling down the field of candidates to replace Mike Turner, the chief executive, who leaves in August.