Tim Spicer’s Aegis Defence Services has had its security contract in Iraq extended, the Sunday Times reports:
Spicer’s company was first chosen for the co-ordination role in a one-year deal signed last year. The selection sparked protests from American companies that were passed over, with Dyncorp, a defence and security contractor, questioning the decision in a formal complaint to the Government Accountability Office, the audit arm of the American government.
It is understood the Dyncorp complaint referred to the Sandline affair, in which a company where Spicer was a director sold arms to Sierra Leone in apparent breach of a UN embargo. Spicer later caused a furore by saying he had done so with the approval of the British government.
Spicer said last week that the complaint had been rejected, and the Pentagon had in recent weeks decided to extend the contract for a second year and expand it. The new deal would be worth about $145m (£79m), he said.
It looks as if Aegis will have plenty of business in Iraq for some time to come.
Leave a Reply