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Saudis 'buy Eurofighters from UK' Saudis 'buy Eurofighters from UK'
(about 1 hour later)
Saudi Arabia says it is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from UK firm BAE Systems for £4.43bn.Saudi Arabia says it is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from UK firm BAE Systems for £4.43bn.
The Ministry of Defence would not confirm the deal had been completed, saying negotiations are continuing.The Ministry of Defence would not confirm the deal had been completed, saying negotiations are continuing.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) dropped a probe last year into a sale of jets to the Saudis in the 1980s.The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) dropped a probe last year into a sale of jets to the Saudis in the 1980s.
The UK government said the decision was on national security grounds, but reports said the Saudis had threatened to pull out if the probe went ahead.The UK government said the decision was on national security grounds, but reports said the Saudis had threatened to pull out if the probe went ahead.
A report on the official Saudi news agency SPA says that the price paid per aircraft is the same that Britain's Royal Air Force pays for the aircraft.A report on the official Saudi news agency SPA says that the price paid per aircraft is the same that Britain's Royal Air Force pays for the aircraft.
Critics attacked the decision to drop the SFO investigation, saying the government had put commercial interest before ethics and had given in to Saudi blackmail.Critics attacked the decision to drop the SFO investigation, saying the government had put commercial interest before ethics and had given in to Saudi blackmail.
In addition to the price paid for the planes, there is also expected to be a lucrative deal for the munitions that go with them and for their maintenance.In addition to the price paid for the planes, there is also expected to be a lucrative deal for the munitions that go with them and for their maintenance.
The negotiations had been foreshadowed by a UK inquiry into allegations Saudi Arabia took bribes from BAE under a military-plane deal struck between the two nations two decades ago.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office last year investigated BAE Systems' £43bn Al-Yamamah deal in 1985, which provided Hawk and Tornado jets plus other military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
However the investigation was pulled by the British government in December 2006 in a move supported by then-prime minister Tony Blair amid statements about the UK's national interests.