Now for the fallout from the British Government decision to drop the corruption probe into a massive defence deal involving BAE Systems, the world's fourth largest defence contractor, and Saudi Arabia.

For the past two years, Britain's Serious Fraud Office had been investigating allegations that BAE had paid millions of dollars in bribes to clinch an $80 billion deal to supply and support the Saudi air force.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's working group on bribery will conduct an inquiry and the issue is on the agenda when it meets this month. OECD officials have told the BBC that there are concerns about political interference. Activists have also launched legal action against the Blair Government.

The Saudis had threatened to cancel a contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons from BAE, a deal worth $12 billion. The Saudis had also threatened close their embassy, reducing it to a consulate and stop sharing intelligence on Al-Qaeda activities with Britain and the United States, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

For its part, BAE says it operates to the highest ethical standards. The company says so on its corporate responsibility statement:

"We are committed to meeting the highest ethical standards in our dealings with others. The nature of our business means it is particularly important that we have strong values and an awareness of public concerns.

"We do not condone unethical or illegal conduct. The consequences of such conduct may be far reaching and severe not only for the Company and its employees, but also for other stakeholders. Unethical behaviour is wrong, could lead to loss of business, could seriously damage our reputation and leave the Company and its employees open to criminal sanction."

Well, that's what it says. But it seems that BAE might have form in dirty stuff.

More than three years ago, The Sunday Times ran a report alleging that it had paid a company to employ spies who had successfully infiltrated the London-based group Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

It's also no stranger to allegations of dirty deals, as revealed in this piece from CorpWatch.

The organisation also seems to be very well connected politically.

As former British foreign secretary Robin Cook wrote in his autobiography Point of Departure:

"In my time I came to learn that the Chairman of British Aerospace appeared to have the key to the garden door to Number 10. Certainly I never once knew Number 10 to come up with any decision that would be incommoding to British Aerospace."