THE TRUTH AT LAST!

Revealed: How British bosses bribed foreign governments to buy military Land Rovers in the 1970s- and how the two-faced British Government covered up the truth.

In May 1977 the Daily Mail newspaper ran a sensational front-page story revealing how the former British Leyland had set up a slush fund to bribe foreign governments into buying Land Rovers.
It was a story that threatened to bring down the Callaghan Labour Government, which went to great lengths to discredit the story-and ultimately won.
The newspaper was eventually forced into humiliating climbdown and subsequently paid out massives damages to the BL executives named and shamed in the original report.
But now LRO can reveal that the original story was accurate all along-and the the Prime Minister of that day, Jim Callaghan, and his chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey, were well aware of the facts.
But instead of telling the truth and vindicating the journalists behind the expose, they turned their backs as the nationalise motor giant`s crooked directors sued for damages.
BL`s chairman, Lord Ryder received £40,000 in damages(the equivalent of £200,000 today). Fellow directors Alex Park and David Andrews, as well as the Government`s Industry Secretary, Eric Varley, also received undisclosed but substantial sums.
But 29 years on, top-secret Government documents from the time are now in the public domain and reveal that the Daily Mail`s original story was in fact true.
The Cabinet was aware that Bl had set up an offshore fund, from which it made clandestine pay-offs of £4.2 million(£20 million today) to bribe decision makers in Middle East and Afrcan countries.
Evidence revealed this month includes £700,000 paid into the bank aacount ot the brother-in-law of the man in charge of buying vehicles for Saudi Arabian army - who worth of subsequently bought £5 million worth of military Series III Land Rovers.
Many of the Men right in the heart of the scandal - including Callaghan, Lord Ryder and wrongly discredited Daily Mail editor Sir David English - are now dead.
But the former Chancellor Healey makes no secret of the cover-up at the time, admitting:'It would have do more harm than good to tell the truth'.
The Daily Mail says his response 'stinks'
'This sorry saga is a parable of how vital it is to have a free Press - and the miserable lenghts to which politicians will go to suppress that freedom,' they comment.

"story told by LANDROVER OWNER INTERANTIONAL MAGAZINES"