"We don't have a police state here, despite many of the ridiculous newspaper headlines. A police state would be where ministers were directing an investigation... "
Then we do have a police state because the BBC reported in 2006 that:
"The Serious Fraud Office has dropped a corruption probe into a defence deal with Saudi Arabia, after warnings it could damage national security.
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the SFO was "discontinuing" its investigation into Britain's biggest defence company, BAE Systems.
The reversal follows reports that Saudi Arabia was considering pulling out of a deal to buy Eurofighter jets from BAE.
Lord Goldsmith said he thought that a prosecution "could not be brought".
He said the decision had been made in the wider public interest, which had to be balanced against the rule of law.
Lord Goldsmith also told peers that Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed that the continuation of the investigation would cause "serious damage" to relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia."
Any comment Jack Straw...? Do you accept that we are in fact living in a police state, a state where the police are directed by ministers?
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