Campaigners demand action

The Campaign Against Arms Trade today said it will be "scandalous" if Attorney-General Baroness Scotland does not sanction a prosecution of BAE Systems over the SFO's bribery allegations.

"We have been exposing the illegal and unethical practices of the arms industry in general and BAE in particular for years, and so we are very pleased that we have got to this day," said a spokesman for CAAT.

"After Tony Blair in 2006, it would be scandalous if Baroness Scotland did not go ahead with the prosecution."

Legal experts say Lady Scotland could yet rule the case is not in the public interest, the bribes occurred before the UK's current anti-corruption legislation and BAE has gone to great lengths to stamp out unethical practices.