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Documents show officials stressing need to ‘keep the Saudis on side’ after revelations about notorious al-Yamamah dealBritain’s Ministry of Defence moved questionable payments through its own bank account amid one of the biggest corruption scandals in history, despite concerns the money could be pocketed by the Saudi royal family.Previously confidential documents show how the MoD agreed to make the payments to a Saudi bank...

Jury acquits Jeffrey Cook and John Mason after lawyers argue payments were authorised by UK and Saudi governmentsTwo men have been acquitted of paying bribes totalling millions of pounds to high-ranking Saudis after they argued that they had been unfairly prosecuted.Jeffrey Cook and John Mason had been accused of bribing a Saudi prince and his associates to secure and maintain a huge defence deal...

Dummy missile’s first-stage boosters reportedly did not ignite in test off coast of Florida last monthLabour has called for assurances over the effectiveness of Britain’s nuclear deterrent after “concerning” reports about a Trident missile test failure.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that an “anomaly occurred” during an exercise that took place on 30 January onboard the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Vanguard. Continue reading...

MoD conducts review but stands accused of conflict of interest while public inquiry investigates conduct of SAS in AfghanistanElite Afghan commandos who fought alongside the British military have had their applications to relocate blocked by UK special forces despite evidence that they had served alongside them in dangerous missions against the Taliban.Documents leaked and shared with BBC Panorama show that Britain’s secretive special forces...

Nicolás Maduro orders ‘defensive’ manoeuvres as British Navy deploys vessel in territorial disputeVenezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in “defensive” exercises, after the UK deployed a warship to waters off the coast of Guyana in a show of support for the former British colony.Maduro said he was launching an action “of a defensive nature in response to...