BAE plays down Eurofighter talk

There were fears the Eurofighter deal could be lost

BAE Systems has played down a report that it is set to clinch a £20bn contract to provide 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Saudi Arabia.

The Times reported that King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz was set to sign the government contract next week.

But BAE said it was unaware of any developments in the deal. The Ministry of Defence said talks were continuing.

Last year the Serious Fraud Office dropped an investigation into a 1980s BAE Systems deal with Saudi Arabia.

It was reported that the Saudis had threatened to cancel the Eurofighter deal unless the probe was halted.

The UK government said the inquiry was dropped for national security reasons.

But critics attacked the move, saying the government had put commercial interest before ethics and had given in to Saudi blackmail.

The Eurofighter deal, which was negotiated between the UK Ministry of Defence and the Saudi government, is worth an estimated £20bn.

About half of this is for providing the planes and munitions with the remainder to pay for maintenance of the jets.

Defence analysts have said the deal will be key to building closer ties with Saudi Arabia.