UK used ‘deniable fiddle’ to hide £60m of payments to Saudis, court told

The court heard that the British government decided in 1978 that large payments had to be paid personally to Prince Abdullah, who later became the Saudi king (pictured). Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AP

The British government approved payments of up to £60m to a future king of Saudi Arabia, his son and other high-ranking officials as part of a huge arms deal and then sought to conceal them in what it described as a “deniable fiddle”, a trial has heard.

Opening the defence of one of two men accused of corruption in the arms deal, Ian Winter QC told Southwark crown court that some of the payments were made to the then Prince Abdullah, who later became the Saudi monarch for a decade.