Indian Fighter contract goes to France

[anonymous-user]

Apparently some Indian guy is walking round with a lot of French cash in his back pocket.

I don't understand why the UK govt doesn't understand that if you want to deal in these countries, it's not about distributing "aid" money, it's about paying the guy signing the document to buy them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-1680953...

[s1962a]

Didn't BAE get in trouble a couple of years ago for bribery during a Saudi arms deal? I believe the case was dropped against them so maybe it is easy to get away with it.

[TheD]

I don't understand why we need to send them a billion pound in aid when they have so much cash for defense and a space program. It could well be percieved as a backdoor bribe though that has backfired. Which is what I personally think. It seems they have greased the wrong pockets.

[Cledus Snow]

I blame the Top Gear Christmas special.

[Soovy]

Typical French.

Not as worried as the British about "Compliance issues"

[onyx39]

Thread already running:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[dandarez]

Cledus Snow said:

I blame the Top Gear Christmas special.

[ewenm]

A lex said:

ANY country with Space and Defence programs shouldn't be receiving aid money in the first place!!

That's another story though I guess.

Add Nuclear to that list too. It does seem strange that we send "aid" money to these seemingly prosperous countries. Post-colonial guilt perhaps? (Ineffectual) business deals?

[Mikeyboy]

No real reason to believe that the French paid them a backhander. One reason not to think so is that no matter which deal the Indians had gone fro a French company would have been the main beneficiary.

EADs makes over 50% of the Typhoon and though those factories may be in Spain and Germany the company is French.

[MX7]

I think that the belief that aid is a legitimate backhander is being taken a bit too literally.

There is no doubt that our contributions to foreign countries do put us in a more favourable light, but it doesn't mean that we are entitled to win every worthwhile contract going. Hopefully this will go some way to dispelling the myth that foreign aid has nothing to do with philanthropy, and everything to do with defense contracts.

Having said that, I do think our foreign aid program does need to be examined.

[onyx39]

MX7 said:

Having said that, I do think our foreign aid program does need to be examined.

I agree totally, particulary when we cannot afford to run our our own armed forces, but they are spending billions expanding theirs!

[Lost soul]

It has not gone to the French , it just the first round

[Fittster]

Can someone explain why the taxpayer should pay bribe in the form of aid to support a private company?

[onyx39]

Fittster said:

Can someone explain why the taxpayer should pay bribe in the form of aid to support a private company?

Jobs presumably.

[Hooli]

ewenm said:

A lex said:

ANY country with Space and Defence programs shouldn't be receiving aid money in the first place!!

That's another story though I guess.

Add Nuclear to that list too. It does seem strange that we send "aid" money to these seemingly prosperous countries. Post-colonial guilt perhaps? (Ineffectual) business deals?

Indeed, if they can afford such programs then they don't need aid. Besides our tax is meant to fix this country not others.

[Eric Mc]

Has the order been placed then?

[Lost soul]

Eric Mc said:

Has the order been placed then?

No , Dave got asked about it in PMQ and said he would put his full force behind us getting the deal so it can not have been

[Eric Mc]

Lost soul said:

Eric Mc said:

Has the order been placed then?

No , Dave got asked about it in PMQ and said he would put his full force behind us getting the deal so it can not have been

I didn't think so.

The thread title is 100% inaccurate then.

[MX7]

Eric Mc said:

I didn't think so.

The thread title is 100% inaccurate then.

In the OP's defence, so is the BBC headline.

[Lost soul]

From the BBC site

"A spokesman for the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium told the BBC they were disappointed, but stressed that the decision was not final and negotiations were still going on. "