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| BAE review seeks bribery controls | BAE review seeks bribery controls |
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| A review into business practices at defence firm BAE Systems has called for tougher anti-bribery measures. | A review into business practices at defence firm BAE Systems has called for tougher anti-bribery measures. |
| The study by Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, set out 23 recommendations for the firm. | The study by Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, set out 23 recommendations for the firm. |
| Lord Woolf said the report provided a "route map" for BAE to ensure it was a leader for its ethical standards. | Lord Woolf said the report provided a "route map" for BAE to ensure it was a leader for its ethical standards. |
| The review began after accusations that BAE made multi-million pound payments to help win a deal from Saudi Arabia - though all parties deny any wrongdoing. | |
| The report said the firm should publish a global code of ethical business, and strengthen its anti-bribery measures in the appointment, management and payment of certain advisers. | |
| The document also proposed a range of measures to strengthen board oversight of ethical issues through the Corporate Responsibility Committee. | |
| BAE Systems was in the headlines recently after the High Court ruled that it was unlawful for the Serious Fraud Office to have ended an investigation into BAE's Al Yamamah deal with Saudi Arabia. | |
| The £43bn deal was signed in the 1980s but continued into the 1990s. It involved BAE selling Tornado and Hawk jets, as well as other weapons, and also included long-running maintenance and training contracts. | |
| The fraud office said the probe would have undermined national security and it has been given permission to appeal against the court ruling. | |
| BAE has maintained that it acted lawfully. | |
| Government role | |
| Following the allegations, BAE Systems charged the Woolf Committee with looking into how the company did business and asked it to publish a public report into the defence firm's practices. | |
| Lord Woolf said BAE had accepted it had no alternative "but to continue along the route of taking all practicable steps to ensure that the circumstances that gave rise to allegations of past misconduct do not re-occur in the future". | |
| He added that the report made a number of observations to the UK government who "could and should do more to promote high standards of ethical business conduct and help protect the global reputation of all British businesses". |