Pressure to reopen BAE probe

Two senior judges ruled that the Government and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) "unlawfully submitted" to threats that there could be "another July 7" unless they dropped the investigation.

Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Sullivan condemned the Government's "abject surrender" to the "blatant threats" that Saudi co-operation in the fight against terror would end unless the probe was halted.

The judges said: "We fear for the reputation of the administration of justice if it can be perverted by a threat."

They warned that any similar unlawful threats to the rule of law in the future must be resisted by Government - or the courts would again intervene.

"No-one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice."

Submission to a threat was only lawful "when it is demonstrated to a court that there was no alternative course open to the decision-maker".

The ruling was a victory for campaigners Corner House and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), who had argued that the SFO decision to stop the investigation was tainted by Government concerns about trade with Saudi Arabia and diplomatic considerations.

They accused the British authorities of giving in to blackmail and said the decision to drop the probe was illegal under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) Anti-Bribery Convention.

Giving their long-awaited decision, the judges said the man behind the threats was Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council and son of the crown prince. He has been the subject of accusations that he took more than £1 billion in secret payments from BAE.