London - An inquiry into the affair that has rocked the Blair government - possible Foreign Office involvement in sending arms to Sierra Leone in breach of UN sanctions - will question officials this week after today's expected decision by Customs and Excise not to prosecute Sandline, the mercenary company at the centre of the affair. The Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, has promised the inquiry will have access to all FO papers relevant to the affair.
Although Customs has discovered evidence of alleged UN sanctions busting, Ms Valerie Strachan, chairman of Customs and Excise, will not make a final decision until she receives advice from Mr John Morris, the government's attorney-general, about the prospects of a successful prosecution should a trial go ahead.
Sandline, run by Lieut-Col Tim Spicer, a former Guards officer, insists its supply of arms and military advice to Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces, which restored the democratically elected President Kabbah to power in Sierra Leone, was done "quite openly and with the full prior knowledge and approval of Her Majesty's Government".