British Treasury Plans to Shut Down Secret Arms Sales Dept. (BAE)

[KoKo]

Treasury plans to shut arms sales department


Rob Evans and David Leigh
Monday July 9, 2007
The Guardian

The Treasury is planning to disband the government's controversial arms sales department, the Guardian can disclose. The 450-strong defence export services organisation (Deso), based near Oxford Street in London, has long been the target of anti-corruption campaigners and opponents of the arms trade.

The former Treasury cabinet minister Stephen Timms launched proposals earlier this year to close down the secretive unit on the grounds that it subsidises profitable weapons giants such as BAE, Britain's biggest arms firm. According to Westminster sources, the Treasury's industrial productivity section argued that the taxpayer should not continue to subsidise an "anachronistic" department which had gained too much influence within Whitehall.

Article continues
Leaked documents seen by the Guardian show that the review was ordered in March by Mr Timms before he left the department. He was replaced last month as chief secretary to the Treasury by Andy Burnham, in Gordon Brown's new prime ministerial appointments. Des Browne, the defence secretary, was told by Mr Timms before his departure that "he was not convinced of Deso's justification".

Deso, set up in 1966 when the arms industry was largely state-owned and was mainly concerned with selling off surplus equipment, spends £15m a year directly on helping British arms firms to sell equipment abroad. It also lobbies within Whitehall for export licences for sales to sometimes controversial regimes. Opponents say no other British industry is supported by such a large government-funded machine and that Deso, which is always headed by an arms company executive, relentlessly promotes the industry's interests within the government.

News of the Treasury initiative comes at an awkward time for Deso, which is accused of approving £1bn payments to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia from BAE. Deso runs the Al Yamamah arms deal for Saudi Arabia in return for a 2% commission. The Saudi transactions are now being investigated by the US justice department after Tony Blair ordered a British police inquiry to be closed down on alleged grounds of "national security".

more at.........
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2121882,00.html

[notadmblnd]

1. that's interesting...

because I was recently appointed to the local draft board and my training is supposed to take place this coming Saturday and the location is at BAE industries here in Michigan. I'm betting that it's the very same corporation. I'm also wondering why, training isn't set up at a government center. All of our cities around here have local community centers.

[bobthedrummer]

2. k&r