Deception in High Places: a History of Bribery in Britain’s Arms Trade
Nicholas Gilby
Pluto Press, 256pp, £15.99
As I began this heroically dogged and at times obsessive book about British connivance in illegal payments to secure arms deals over the past half-century, there were calls for the 2022 World Cup to be taken away from Qatar. The Gulf state’s football authorities had allegedly passed $5m to African officials to buy their support for Qatar’s unlikely bid to host the finals. And as I was finishing this short exposé – a dense and involved read – there was a counterclaim accusing the English FA of having made illegal payments during the World Cup 2018 bidding process.
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