The firm is the UK's largest manufacturer - making everything from British Army kit to warships and planes. It has about 105,000 employees worldwide,
including about 32,000 in the UK with customers in more than 100 countries.
The article goes on to quote: "BAE either becomes an ethical company, which involves refusing to get involved in some contracts, or it does not
become a fully ethical company reaching the gold standard that we have identified," Lord Woolf said when the report was published in May last
year.
"There are contracts that are not worth having and that will do long-term damage to the company, and the company has to accept that."
BAE shares have already taken a hit, as described in the third 'additional link' from the TimesOnline.co.uk.
Remember though, the real story behind the BAE "Al Yamamah" scandal is that, under the arms-for-oil barter deal, we (the British) accumulated
well-over £170 billion, in off-the-books, offshore funds, that have been used to finance covert operations, for the past 23 years (the deal was first
signed in 1985, and has been regularly updated ever since).
The other nagging matter around the BAE case is that Prince Bandar "inadvertently" helped finance the 9/11 attacks, through funds provided by him
and his wife to two Saudi intelligence operatives in California, who, in turn, bankrolled two of the hijackers. This sordid tale is spelled out in
Philip Shenon's admirable expose of the 9/11 Commission investigation, in the 2008 book, The Commission--The Uncensored History of the 9/11
Investigation.
To summarize: BAE delivered about £70 billion (approximated) in arms and services to Saudi Arabia. BAE padded the bills substantially, up to nearly
£140 billion (again, approximated.) The pad was used, in part, to bribe Saudi officials who helped swing the deal, including Bandar and Prince Turki
bin-Khaled, a top official of the Saudi Ministry of Defense. That part is fully detailed in the Guardian and other British coverage of the BAE
scandal, going back three or four years.
news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)
[edit on 1-10-2009 by Sed Non Credo]