documents*, said Barton during his trial.
Whatever else can be said about the | former Levand financial executive. Graham Barton can talk with authority about Leyland's 'market factor a term he defined as covering all non-standard billing arrangements or special commis For it was Barton, under company Instructions, who drew up the three reports, which provide the major evidence of the nature and extent of the 'market factor': reports refer to widespread bribery and other illegalities.
The reports were commissioned by Barton's superior, Clive Strowger, in September 1976. At the being conducted with thoroughness and discretion Thar is a phrase British Leyland may yet live to regret, for their only defence to the wealth of statistics and information contained in the Barton reports was that they 'unsubstantiated" and unreliable.
EXPOSURE That is the first myth which needs to be exposed in the Leyland slush fund affair; an exposure which is not particulary anguous.
ts, Bartend appeared to have reports, Leyland appeared few doubts about his ability First he was commissioned to write Leyland's cars division. Then he was report of the market factor" for asked to compile one which covered Leyland's bus and truck division; finally he was commissioned to write one on the company's Scammell division.
It seems odd that, if Barton was as 001 02 110001809 00 bosses have said he was, he should have been asked to compile three "private and confidential' It also seems strange that if, as Levland claimed to Challenge in January "market factor" consists of ordinary business payments, the documents relating to the 'market factor" should have been circulated only at the very highest levels of Leyland's executive structure.
SHREDDER Oddest of all, perhaps, is the present whereabouts Barton's working report, I Leyland has nothing to hide, why are these deposited in the safe of the company's secretary: or as Barton's lawyer put it.
available Issuc John EXCLUENC admitted is authentic.
ILLEGALITY main illegality Board, being exposed. were accordingly trial was the reference in the financial year 1975/6.
reports, 1977, the question was N Festok.
LEY BENC head contract. but had Whether or Graham on his legitimate was papers now Preven Socialist Challenge 10 August 1978 Sapplement Page 4 "if not there, in Leyland's shredder'?
Socialist Challenge circulated within Leytand in August 1975, a document which Leyland LITTSOES Champion crampic That document warned that, "there should the details of transactions be exposed'. It also testified that the problems are caused by the of these specified. transactions in the territory con But If Leyland and their principal sharcholders, the National Enterprise 10551 CONTENTE HAYC nothing to hide, then they will not mund the delails of the transactions' One mysterious highlight of the in one of Barton's reports to the payment of E700,000 to a single individuai made The recipient of this tidy sum was not named at the trial; all that was purely made public was that the gentleman in question was the brotber-in-law of the commander of the National Guard in the country concerned. We can now reveal that the country was in faci Saudi Arabia, and the individual in Ar the trial Lord Ryder, former 38U38.
Board, argued that the 700,000 had nothing to do with the award of the ensured that i lunch an in naxatu SION stop the contract once it had been Ryder was suggesting that this made the payment unclear trom But the executive respon still is sible for this payment was one of those whom Deyland went to court to appearing. Fustok's moncy was lodged in the Chase Manhattan Bank in Geneva, which suggests the contrary.
A compatriot of Fustok, a certain G Shaker, is another beneficiary recorded in Barton's cars division report. He received a mere E525,000, paidintothe United Overseas Bank in Geneva, account number E18502 V.
Both these payments came from the cars division at Leyland, but the other are also Involved.
Barton's report on the Scammell division recorded Egyptian Evenine account at the Union Bank Anny of Switzerland.
What services Alexane provided for this half a million pounds is mot other tabulated by Barton offer obvious conclusions.
ASSISTANCE For instance, Mustafa Issa reocived £30,000 for his part in a Land Rover contract with the Iraqi Government That Issa was an official of the ruling Haath party in Iraq suggests the type bl assistance he provided in securing the contract for Leyland Most of the payments referred to in Barton's reports went to beneficiaries in the Third HELTERE himself made this point at his trial:
sald arrangements that such practices stem the population of a country is innately corrupt, that when in Rome..
*But there are many cases in the schedules where the people benetiting have direct links with the interests the ElK.. und their activities are well known and approved of by the authorities of this country. They are involved in an official capacity in representing this country,"
Individual who fits this description is 67-yean-okd Beberman. According to one section of Barton's report, Heherman's. special commission' during 1975/6 totalled nearly 1200,000.
This was in connection with two contracts, one to the Belgian Army ind one to the Luxembourg Armis This paymeet was ETECTEUL Barton a number of times during bi trial, and be left bttle doubt of opinion of its dubious nature.
Yet Beherman has on a number of occasions officially represented Britain as diplomatic functions, was also awarded an honorary CRE in Most of Bcherman, at the time he received the and as far as we know moncy, was head of one of Leyland's Belgian subsidiaries.
There are suggestions And | Beherman is not the only individual sorenduri For Shar with direct associations with leyland who benefited from the company's "special commissions. executive Cave Sha fe add heard Barton trial that these rumours that 'company were getting themselves the through intermediaries by numbered bank accounts'; Similarly, there is the reference in the memo reproduced in last week's Socialist Challenge numbered bank accounts means that on occasions the corporation makes payments to unknown persons who may inchcle its own employees acing irrepularly.
Just what was all this money for? In one of the reports he Joseph Graham USELLE words. phrase he uses. In other words, paying ruling party officials, brothers-in-law of the head of the National Guard, or woever, to secure contracts for the company.
CONTRAVENTIONS
But Barton himself stressed at his trial thar this was cot all the market 'conscious contraventions He commercial law', and in a section of one of his reports he all, Leyland "assisting breach local regulations with their commission accounts".
By this, what is implied is that the beneficiary that payment into a bank acoount outside the country of his residence, usually in Switzerland. This avoided the need to pay tax on the money concerned. Not only did this deprive the country of residence of tlie tax money, it al50 deprived the country of foreign exchange.
As Such countries need for foreign exchange and underdeseloped as they usually are -they impose strict currency and commercial regulations for payments madero their residents. It ischese laws which Barton said Leyland breaking beneficiaries' payments into Swiss bank accounts.
AUTHENTIC There is little doubt chat both these illegalities forward slushing knowledee in the top circles of British Leyland. Indeed.
Barton's trial that the 'evidence" Alex Park subtitted to the Ryder inquiry' into the Mail allegations admitted the breakine of such company regula tions.
Further evidence is supplied in a letter from Leyland treasury manager
Leyland duced
Challenge, personnel reads:
Field of "Ise retentions. "Internal Treasurer drew up. arrangentents, mince subsequently Large scale slushing" is the arrangements.
should be prohibil have your views?
slushing referred distributors to memo. explained that, concerned roceived his valuable Apart have a great The Mail source, loged their documents "illegalities"
as well as the straightLeyland, John Champion — the letter which accompanies the document week's Socialist and has beer confirmed as authentic. The letter RETENTIONS "The attached memo from Bob BL. Cars Taises again the • 135510 Audit prepared discussion paper in 1974, a copy of which is also attached. At the time the line divisions were asked to inform the of all proposed but Alen agreed that could authorise such *This is a subject on which there La Corporate cuideline Although it would be impracticable to arrangements involvins possible illegalities, -I believe suc arrangements should he centraily known and recorded. Can 1 please of British Leyland management on the whole question of and breaking cortency regulations are perhaps best summed epin a phrase Graham Barton savs he saw in yet another internal Leyland phrase. sand Barton, The time has tor come to pay off our friends".
The evidence of has Leyland paid its friends' and who these friends were is quite literally overwhelming Of course, Graham Barton has at times confused matters RI TO KNOW altogether the authenticity of the alleged 'Kyder letter, he has voluntarily stated that "adulterated" humber documents he submitted to the Duily He did this, he said, to protect his Needs Lesland even those which has reluctantly admitted are genuine are evidense enough of a wide range of Twenty million pounds may be chickenfeed to some people. It is not chickenfeed to the workers of British Lesland, who have faced widespread redundancies over the last year.
They ahove all others have a right to know the fill facts of how their bosses conduct the affairs of Beitish La right demand the opening of all Leyland's books The ending of the Graham Harton trial should not be the end of the slush fund slory, rather the start of its more desailed and more honest retelling.
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TWENTY MILLION pounds. That is what Graham Barton says that British Leyland spent last year on its "market factor'. These figures can be confirmed by reference to Leyland
Anne money rectved Egregun ory sat with the