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Serious Fraud Office Investigation

I thank the hon. Gentleman both for the way in which he has responded to the statement and for his compliments to the Attorney-General, which I will pass on to him. The decision was taken by the director of the Serious Fraud Office. There were discussions with the Attorney-General and myself, but during those discussions, the director informed us that he had a view in relation to the issue. That view was his view. He told us that yesterday. He wanted to reflect on it further overnight, and he confirmed it to us about midday today. We have therefore taken the decision that we should inform Parliament of that view as soon as possible. The hon. Gentleman asks me to amplify some of the issues in relation to the phases of the investigation. He is right to say that the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is an important dividing point. It is arguable whether the corruption of foreign officials was an offence before the 2001 Act, and it would be unsafe in this context to undertake a prosecution. It is unlikely in our view that one would be successful. On that phase, a clear view has been formed therefore that a prosecution is not likely to succeed. On the obstacles that relate to phase 2 and indeed, to some extent, to phase 3 of the investigation—those are the periods after the 2001 Act has come into effect—there are various legal issues, quite complex ones in relation to principle and agency, and in relation to how a prosecution might be undertaken and in what circumstances, given the nature of the Government in Saudi Arabia. We would have to take those into account, and they might affect the ability of a prosecution to succeed. There are also various issues in relation to the evidence. I have indicated in the Attorney-General’s statement that some of the payments that were made immediately post the coming into effect of the 2001 Act may well have been made in particular circumstances that would not justify a prosecution. On subsequent matters, it is clear that there is very limited information or evidence in relation to the third phase, and there is a particular problem in that obtaining that would take a very long time in our view. On the public interest, the hon. Gentleman asks me whether it was the director of the Serious Fraud Office who took those issues into account. I can confirm that it was the director. Of course the Attorney-General and, indeed, myself also subsequently considered whether we concurred. On the public interest, we certainly concur. On the evidence issues, the Attorney-General formed a view, which was that he thought that there were some serious problems in respect of the likelihood of a long-term prosecution being undertaken in any event. Finally, the hon. Gentleman makes a very good point: we ought perhaps to look at how we better advise companies in relation to what are some difficult and complex issues. He will understand that we have had little time since making the decision to consider his point—indeed, he has put it to me this evening. We will have some discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry on how we might best perhaps guide companies, and perhaps come back to him later, to find out whether we can deal with some of the issues that he has quite rightly identified.