Jonathan Powell – the figure at the centre of the ‘China spy’ case scandal – has form when it comes to halting legal investigations into foreign powers. Legal sources liken his alleged meddling with the China spy case to a major scandal under the Blair government…
In an oddly similar way to how he is now accused of helping shut down the investigation into alleged Chinese espionage, it was widely claimed that Powell helped stop an investigation regarding an arms deal partly negotiated by his own brother. While serving as Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff, Powell was accused of placing pressure on the Attorney General to drop the matter because of economic fears about upsetting Saudi Arabia…
The scandal was one of the biggest stories of the era. As The Times reported in 2007: “Jonathan Powell played a key part in the events leading up to the government’s decision to halt an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into whether BAE Systems paid bribes to senior members of the Saudi Arabian royal family’s ties”. Sound familiar?
In 2008, Lord Justice Moses found that: “Tony Blair and his then chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, had allowed (Saudi Prince) Bandar to “pervert the course of justice” after the Saudi prince threatened them with diplomatic, economic and security sanctions if the SFO investigation continued.” The £43 billion Anglo-Saudi Al-Yamamah arms deal involved Jonathan’s brother and Syrian Wafic Said, who remains close to the Powell family…
As The Guardian reported at the time: “The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, changed his mind about whether there was enough evidence to bring corruption charges against the arms company BAE after pressure from Downing Street, legal sources have told the Guardian.”
Far from being a master negotiator, it seems Powell’s speciality is making unhelpful investigations into foreign powers disappear. There is every possibility the China spy case episode will also end up in court or a public inquiry…
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