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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Saudis buy Eurofighters from UK | Saudis buy Eurofighters from UK |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Saudi Arabia is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. | Saudi Arabia is to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. |
| The deal is worth about £4.4bn but contracts for maintainance and training are expetced to take the bill to £20bn. | |
| 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 this was on national security grounds, but reports said the Saudis had threatened to pull out if the probe went ahead. | The UK government said this was on national security grounds, but reports said the Saudis had threatened to pull out if the probe went ahead. |
| Blackmail claim | Blackmail claim |
| 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. | 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. |
| UK-based BAE Systems said it welcomed "this important milestone in its strategy to continue to develop Saudi Arabia as a key home market with substantial employment and investment in future in-Kingdom industrial capability". | UK-based BAE Systems said it welcomed "this important milestone in its strategy to continue to develop Saudi Arabia as a key home market with substantial employment and investment in future in-Kingdom industrial capability". |
| 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. | 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. |
| The negotiations had been overshadowed 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. | The negotiations had been overshadowed 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. | 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. | 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. |