Dans une suite logique aux évènements précédents (1, 2), Tony Blair, pris dans une activité britannique déjà mouvementée (scandale du cash-for-honours, enquête sur l'accident de Lady Di, meurtres en série de prostituées), se fait tout naturellement allumer par le Guardian, mais aussi par le Financial Times :
This meek announcement was made worse by Lord Goldsmith's assertion that "it has been necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest". To some of those at the top of government, legality appears to be a flexible concept.
(The Guardian, 15/12/2006)
Traduction rapide : "pour certaines personnes à la tête du gouvernement, le concept de légalité semble flexible".
First, to give into Saudi pressure is tantamount to issuing a general invitation to blackmail. It has been Britain’s policy that governments cannot interfere with the course of enquiries or meddle with the rule of law. What will they say now when, for instance, Moscow demands the return of Chechen dissidents or Riyadh objects to BBC broadcasts?
Second, Britain’s sermons about transparency and good governance, as well as adherence to anti-bribery conventions, will be blown away by gales of derision – and rightly so. The reputation of the SFO, moreover, will be badly tarnished.
(Financial Times, 14/12/2006)
