Clegg calls for inquiry into Blair's role in dropping Saudi investigation

It is good to see Nick Clegg keeping up his visibility. He has tonight strongly criticised the role of Tony Blair in the dropping of the Al Yamamah investigation following the revelation of a letter from Tony Blair dated 8th December 2006:

The letter, written to Lord Goldsmith, then Attorney General, implies that Blair saw the potential loss of a Typhoon jet contract as a secondary consideration in dropping the inquiry.

Nick Clegg comments on BBC Online:

Tony Blair must urgently explain what he thought he was up to by invoking the Typhoon contract as a reason to stop the SFO investigation.

As his own attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, made clear to him between December 2005 and December 2006, commercial relations are an improper basis under international law to suspend a legal investigation.

“Knowing this, why did Tony Blair persist in pursuing a legally improper line of argument which could amount to an attempt to pervert the course of justice?