This will simply accelerate BAe's plans to shift it's HQ to the USA....

It may well be that the SFO was on to some of the slush money going in other directions apart from Saudi Arabia; now that really would cause problems for certain people. It would not be good for our national interest if they found out what was really going on.

This should make it clear that our dependence on Arab oil has corrupted us. If Blair is now a poodle to the house of Saud then the UK is in big trouble!

In any case it is about time that the obscene trade in hi-tech weapons to third world countries ruled by dictators stopped. To quote Billy Bragg -

I saw my enemy, and in his hand
Was a weapon that was made in Birmingham.

This seems to be a clear admission by the Saudis that they are corrupt: what motivation could they have to halt an inquiry that would show they were honest?

I wonder – what do they say in their prayers to Allah? What do they think He says back to them? Does the Omniscient wink and turn a blind eye?

And poor old Tony Blair! Caught between pressure from those who want the rule of law upheld and pressure from the Saudis, he must wonder why he ever wanted to become Prime Minister. When he's sat on the porcelain throne in the morning, does he reflect on his term in office? What a mess it's been – errors, compromises, and incompetence, and spin to cover them up – all this has damaged still further the notion that politicians might occasionally have either ability or integrity.

That may be the inevitable lot of a Prime Minister who is far from great and who lacks a cause that most of his electorate support – social reform in the past, for example, or a just war. Of course, he has tried to manufacture his own just war – but we found out it was unjust, and now he's doomed.

Wee shame!

Didn't they use Scottish Oil money to bribe themselves?

Money rule$, every country are looking their interests.

the only real losers in this scandal are the stupid saudi citizens under the very well known Corruption & dictatorship.

also your damn democracy & institutes proved to be nothing wicked game.

Any one who has lived and worked in the Golden Gaol aka the Desert Kingdom understands the Saudi viewpoint that if you cannot make some money out of a deal, you are a pretty lousy businessman. Adnan Khashoggi in the 70s and 80s showed just how much could be made over there.

The Saudi Royals take 1/3 of all the oil revenues for their own family, which in turn has it's fingers in every business venture over there. We call it nepotism, bribery and corruption; they call it a way of life.

Damned fuzzywuzzies at it again---give them a taste of cold steel.

ONE WOULD THINK, GIVEN THE CURRENT CLIMATE AROUND LONDON TOWARDS THOSE THAT SELL THEMSELVES FOR MONEY, THE POLITICIANS LIKE BLAIR AND GOLDSMITH WOULD BE MORE CIRCUMSPECT. AFTER ALL, DOESN'T ONE HATE TO ADMIT THAT THE ARABS ARE RUNNING THINGS NOW?

Calm down, the Saudis have been a puppet regime since their coming to power. Don't forget the Britain who put the Saudis in power and it's USA who maintains them, by selling them guns, weapons and training them. This is a main reason why so many Islamic fundamentalists are pissed off at UK and USA.

I'm glad you're pissed off about it, but don't go saying Blair is an innocent man, the sky might fall on you. If you don't like the Saudi arabs, convince your government to stop trading with them, to stop giving them guns and stuff, convince USA to remove the many military bases from Saudi Arabia. The people of Arabia will love you, since they live in under the brutal rule of the House of Saud, which not only never shares anything of the profits from oil with its people, and violently eliminates the dissenters. Indeed one corrupt and brutal regime.

10. Dragomir:-
Having spent a large part of my working life (now retired) in the oil business,I too am familiar with what passes in ME and African countries for government. As other contributors have said, corruption is the norm and the people are brutally subjugated. This was once true of Europe, until the people revolted and destroyed or neutered their previous masters; political and religious. This action gave birth to our current democracies. The situation in the ME will continue until such time as the people revolt and take matters into their own hands. This was the prime aim of Osama bin Laden and his cohorts. It is their frustration at the support given by the US to the house of Saud that is their prime reason for attacking the USA and us.
It is the need for oil that drives our support for the house of Saud and other corrupt regimes. It will only be when we no longer need their oil that governments like the US will withdraw their support.
Fortunately an independent Scotland would not have this problem as we have more than enough energy reserves for our own use. Instead of spending obscene amounts on arms and inconclusive wars, we can concentrate on rebuilding our country. I would prefer not to be killing people to enable me to drive my car.

Dragomir, I have yet to find a post of yours I didn't like. You are right. Mohamed I agree.

But this bin laden thing is ridiculous. bin laden is just a mere pawn in all this diabolical game playing on human misery. I honestly don't believe he pulled 9/11. He wasn't that smart, but most importantly, he didn't have the resources. No Arab or other middle eastern country has such resources for such a planned event as 9-11 was. Scream at me all you want. But the finger pointing goes to the USA and 'israel'. They benefited greatly from this barbaric attack.

I do not doubt for a second that Saudi creeps such as Atta, and others like him let themselves be used and paid for (like whores) by the neocons to put the blame on the middle east. Many, many, cowardly, greedy, or desperate arabs have done this - sold their souls to the Devil, selling their people down a bloody river.

Look what's happening to iraq, palestine, and lebanon, and afghanistan. I swear, the week after 9-11 happened and people were talking, the first country I blamed was saudi arabia - but not for the reasons that people think!

And besides! Did ANYTHING happen to Saudi aRabia???

Hell no! The usa left them alone and tore apart the other countries that had nothing to do with 9-11.

Which brings me to an excellent point that Dragomir brought up: STOP TRADING WITH SAUDI ARABIA! CUT THEM OFF! If ever there was a country that deserved punishment, let this be one of them.

Guess who suffers when saudi arabia suffers?

The United States and 'israel'! That's who.

So guess what? It won't happen. And besides....MOST of the saudi revenue from oil goes right back into the coffers of the West, and then funnels down into "israel'.

Believe it.

Christpher

Ahhh, knew it was too good to last!! You are back to the Conspiracy Theories!!
Have you learned nothing???

i can't understand why they remove my comment, it was not insulting, ....

i've sait, that saoudis are a state sponsor terrorist, and they remove my post...

i was saying that if they care about democracy, liberty, it's not iraq or afghanistan that they should attack, it's the saoudis regime.

i was making the point, that UK and USA are simply playing a game, a geostrategique game that costs a million of innocents lives in the middle east and thousands of british and american soldiers whos dying for nothing.