Saudis Killed Arms Probe Under Blair

The Saudi royal family threatened to withhold information about planned terrorist attacks on London unless British authorities suspended an investigation into corrupt arms deals, court documents show. Prince Bandar flew to London in December 2006 to warn investigators they faced "another 7/7," referring to the four bombs that killed 52 people in 2005, reports the Guardian.

The threats—Bandar warned of the loss of "British lives on British streets"—led PM Tony Blair to close an investigation into allegation of bribery surrounding more than $2 billion in secret payments from the arms company BAE to the Saudis. Anti-corruption campaigners filed a legal action yesterday to reopen the investigation, asserting that the British government had been blackmailed. (More BAE stories.)