Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by John Barrett (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 26 November 2009 on behalf of the Solicitor General.

Bribery Bill

Question: I thank the Solicitor-General for that answer, but what can she do to assure the House that never again will the Government use bogus reasons for not proceeding with Serious Fraud Office offences? I simply mention the murky BAE Systems-Saudi arms deal.

Answer: I suppose precedent would be a help because there never has been such behaviour by the Government. I remind the hon. Gentleman of what the House of Lords said about the decision. First, it made it clear that the director of the SFO, not any member of the Government, made the decision. It was also clearly stated that:""It may indeed be doubted whether a responsible decision-maker could, on the facts before the Director, have decided otherwise"."

Secondary information