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Al-Yamamah Arms Agreement

I am sure that my right hon. and learned Friend is perfectly right. I am not usually fair to the Prime Minister—I have no desire to be—but when he pointed out, quite openly, that he had had major involvement in the matter, it did not strike me as improper, although the fact remains that it is the Attorney-General who is the guardian of the public interest under our prosecution system. It is for the Attorney-General to make decisions, although it is also possible for those within prosecution services to make the decisions first, before they refer them to him. As I understand it, that is what the director of the Serious Fraud Office chose to do.