Arms-to-Iraq
 Section of Iraq's Supergun (Project Babylon) | |
| Type |  deep event |
|---|---|
| Exposed by | Gerald James |
| Interest of | Stephan Adolphus Kock |
The Arms-to-Iraq affair concerned the exposure of government-endorsed sales of arms by British companies to Iraq during a period when there was a government-endorsed UN embargo on such sales. The period coincided roughly with the 8 years of war between Iraq and Iran when Margaret Thatcher was the UK Prime Minister. The revelations precipitated the Scott Inquiry, set up in 1992 after the collapse of the Matrix Churchill trial, which reported in 1996. Much of both the report itself and the Inquiry's evidence remain classified.[citation needed] The affair caused a major scandal which contributed to growing dissatisfaction with the then Conservative government of John Major and contributed to the victory of Tony Blair's Labour Party at the 1997 general election.
Following the first Gulf War of 1991, over the Iraqi invasion of neighbouring Kuwait, there was interest in the extent to which British companies had been supplying Saddam Hussein's regime with weapons and materials used to prosecute the war. Four directors of the British machine tools manufacturer Matrix Churchill were put on trial for supplying equipment and knowledge to Iraq, but in 1992 the trial collapsed, when it became clear that the company had been advised by senior government ministers and officials on how best to circumvent its own arms embargo. Several of the directors were eventually paid compensation. [1]
Contents
Matrix Churchill
- Full article: Matrix Churchill
- Full article: Matrix Churchill
Matrix Churchill was a company that produced machine tools in Coventry, England, that had been bought by the Iraqi government. According to the International Atomic Energy Authority, its products found in Iraq, were among the highest quality of their kind in the world. They were 'dual use' machines that could be used to manufacture weapons parts. As one of the Directors claimed to have been working for the intelligence services, the Ministry of Defence advised Matrix Churchill on how to apply for export licences of materials that could be used to make munitions in such a way that would not attract attention. The trial collapsed after Alan Clark admitted under oath that he had been "economical with the actualité" in answering questions about the policy on arms exports to Iraq.
Walter Somers Ltd
Involved in similar fashion to Matrix Churchill - especially in connection with manufacturing parts for the Iraqi 'Super-gun'
Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd
Involved in similar fashion to Matrix Churchill - especially in connection with manufacturing parts for the Iraqi 'Super-gun'
Iraqgate whistleblower
On Monday 16 November 1992, The Guardian published this letter from former diplomat Patrick Haseldine:[2]
- As an ex-Foreign Office diplomat, formerly responsible for upholding the arms embargo against South Africa, I am not bound by the public interest immunity certificate signed by Tristan Garel-Jones and can therefore contribute some authoritative comment about Whitehall's export licensing procedure for dual purpose equipment.
- The first point to make is that the lead department in such politically sensitive cases is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Each export licence application (ELA) is circulated by the DTI to other ministries. A doubtful ELA would require the FCO desk officer concerned (for Iraqgate it would be the Iraq desk officer) to prepare the submission under four headings: problem, recommendation, background and argument.
- If the argument section is balanced in favour of the ELA and other ministries do not object, the recommendation will be for approval. The submission is then passed to the head of department, the superintending under-secretary and then for agreement by the FCO minister having geographical responsibility. In contentious cases and where Number 10 Downing Street has shown an interest, the submission would also go to the permanent under-secretary and to the private secretary (and thus to the Foreign Secretary).
- In my view, it is inconceivable that John Major, as Foreign Secretary in 1989, could have been unaware of the Matrix Churchill export to Iraq. His private secretary then was Stephen Wall, who is now Prime Minister Major's foreign policy adviser at No.10.
- I blew the whistle on Mrs Thatcher's handling of the Coventry Four arms embargo case in a letter to The Guardian in December 1988 and was told after an internal inquiry and eight months later in an FCO letter - signed by Stephen Wall - that I had been given the sack for doing so.[3]
On the same day, Patrick Haseldine was interviewed at the Clock Tower Café in Ongar by satellite link-up for Channel 4 News by Jon Snow and for BBC Radio 4's World Tonight by Robin Lustig. Because of that day's late announcement of the setting up and terms of reference of the Scott Inquiry, neither interview was actually broadcast.
Bibliography
- Cowley, Chris Blake, Robin - Supergun: A Political Scandal - publisher Arrow - ISBN 0-09-918781-7
- Leigh, David - Betrayed: Trial of Matrix Churchill - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 1993 - ISBN 0-7475-1552-2
- Miller, Davina - Export or Die: Britain's Defence Trade with Iran and Iraq (Global Issues) - Northeastern University Press 1997 - ISBN 1-55553-285-3
- Norton-Taylor, Richard Lloyd, Mark Cook, Stephen - Knee Deep in Dishonour: Scott Report and Its Aftermath - Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1996 - ISBN 0-575-06385-8
- Phythian, Mark - Arming Iraq (Northeastern Series in Transnational Crime) - Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. 1996 - ISBN 0-304-33852-4
- James, Gerald - In the Public Interest - Little, Brown & Co 1995 - ISBN 0-316-877190
- Cowley, Chris - Guns, Lies and Spies - Hamish Hamilton Ltd 1992 - ISBN 0-241-13447-1
See also
- ISBN 0316877190 "In the Public Interest" - Gerald James. A devastating account of the Thatcher Government's involvement in the covert arms trade by the man who turned Astra Fireworks into a £100 million arms manufacturer.
- Iraq Super-gun
- Gerald Bull
- Andre Cools
- Chris Gumbley
- Stephan Adolphus Kock
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Armed and Dangerous | article | 1 March 1996 | Paul Foot | Arguments about whether ministers should resign are not the main point of the Scott Report, says Paul Foot. The real dynamite is in the connection between government and the arms industry - and the level of deception involved |
| Document:Asil Nadir: another victim of the arms-to-Iraq conspiracy? | article | December 2013 | Andrew Rosthorn | Commentary on evidence suggesting that Asil Nadir is the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice in furtherance of the continued high-level cover-up of the 'Arms-to-Iraq' scandal through the 1980's |
| Document:Big Brother - One Man's Story | account | 1 January 2010 | Gerald James | The workings of secret, unaccountable government (The Deep State) of the UK. It functions, not only with callous disregard for the lives of those who get in its way but through Machiavellian manipulation of them - The sobering experiences of Gerald James. |
| Document:CIA Research Paper SW91-10076X - Intelligence Summary | Research paper | November 1991 | CIA | Transcription of the unredacted 'Intelligence Summary' (pages 22-26) of CIA Research paper SW91-10076X titled 'Project Babylon' which names two ex-SAS soldiers as having been contracted to eliminate Gerald Bull |
| Document:Gerald James 2007 FOIA Appeal Statement | legal document | 2007 | Gerald James | Gerald James' appeal statement in the matter of the UK government refusal to release documents which would support his allegations of SIS orchestration of events and people that resulted in the destruction of his company, Astra Holdings. |
| Document:In Defence of the Indefensible | article | 1997 | David Guyatt | A critique of the Scott Report on the illegal export of military equipment to Iraq through the 1980's |
| Document:Maggie's Guilty Secret | article | December 2013 | John Hughes-Wilson | A brief resume of the Arms-to-Iraq affair by a former colonel on NATO's international political staff in Brussels. It revisits the abortive rescue of US diplomatic staff held hostage by Iran under President Carter, paving the way for the UK to supply arms to both sides in the soon-to-follow Iran-Iraq war in covert defiance of UN sanctions. The UK establishment has been engaged in a monumental cover-up ever since. |
| Document:Project Babylon and the still smoking Iraqi supergun | article | 2 May 2014 | Andrew Rosthorn | A startling account of the murky dealings of the British political establishment and security services surrounding the Arms-to-Iraq affair in general and the legal proceedings against Asil Nadir in particular |
| Document:Secret Justice | article | 1 December 2013 | Martin Tancock | A forensic examination of the legal shenanigans surrounding the 2012 trial of Asil Nadir. It clearly demonstrates how all branches of the Establishment can close ranks in defense of the indefensible. When gross illegalities on the part of government and its senior members must be hidden in the alleged Public or National Security interest, then the police, judges, ministers and senior civil servants can be relied upon to do whatever is necessary. |
| Document:Stephan Kock - Spook | article | December 1994 | Mark Phythian | A detailed look at the career of Stephan Adolphus Kock, one of the spooks at the centre of the Arms-to-Iraq and Pergau Dam scandals |
| Document:Whistler against the wind - Gerald James | profile | 18 June 1995 | Cal McCrystal | A profile of Gerald James, former Chairman of Astra Holdings and his battles against his appalling treatment by a corrupt system intent on hiding the dirty secrets of the Arms-to-Iraq affair. |
| File:CIA Research Paper SW91-100076X Redacted.pdf | Research paper | November 1991 | CIA | Redacted CIA Research paper SW91-10076X titled 'Project Babylon' as it appeared on the CIA web site in July 2012 |
| File:CIA Research Paper SW91-100076X summary.pdf | Research paper | November 1991 | CIA | Unredacted 'Intelligence Summary' (pages 22-26) of CIA Research paper SW91-10076X titled 'Project Babylon' and naming two ex-SAS soldiers as having been contracted to eliminate Gerald Bull |
| File:CIA Research Paper SW91-100076X un-redacted.pdf | Research paper | November 1991 | CIA | Unredacted CIA Research paper SW91-10076X titled 'Project Babylon:The Iraq Supergun' (pages 1-21) |
| File:Gerald James 2007 FOIA Appeal Statement.pdf | legal document | 2007 | Gerald James | |
| File:GeraldJamesStatements.pdf | legal document | 2007 | Gerald James | |
| File:LetterGeraldBull-PhilippeGlibert311089(2).pdf | letter | 31 October 1989 | Gerald Bull | |
| File:LetterGeraldBull-PhilippeGlibert311089.pdf | letter | 31 October 1989 | Gerald Bull | |
| File:TheBrusselsTrip.pdf | letter | 6 March 1990 | Astra Defence Systems Ltd |
References
- ↑ "Arms-to-Iraq pair welcome payout"
- ↑ "Who sees and hears what matters in Whitehall", The Guardian, 16 November 1992
- ↑ "Letter to The Guardian December 7, 1988"
External links
- JANCOM web site - There is a wealth of information on the 'Arms to Iraq' episode on this site. It's purpose is to seek a measure of genuine justice for Asil Nadir whose business interests impinge dramatically on arms deals and the people who profited from them that the UK authorities are determined to obfuscate and hide.
- BBC On This Day 15th Feb - 1996: Arms-to-Iraq report published
- Co-Operative Research - Companies selling arms to Iraq 1981 - 1993
- Guardian Unlimited - Arms to Iraq inquiry affects control on exports - 07/12/00
- ICH - Congressional Record Arms Sales to Iraq - 21/09/92
- ISIS - Matrix Churchill
- The Mirror - Iraq: The Lying Game by John Pilger 27/08/02
- Video of Robin Cook's Commons Address in 3 parts
