A TOP judge is to chair a panel to investigate arms deals at defence giant BAE Systems.
Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, is to chair the committee set up in an attempt to bring an end to allegations of corruption in its dealings with Saudi Arabia.
BAE has been plagued by allegations of bribery in connection with payments made as part of the Al-Yamamah arms deal, which was signed by Margaret Thatcher in 1989.
A Serious Fraud Office inquiry into the deal was stopped last year by the attorney general Lord Goldsmith.
Blackburn MP Jack Straw and other East Lancashire MP's expressed concerns the probe would lead to job loses.
BAE employs about 5,000 workers at Salmesbury.
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