The Arms-to-Iraq affair concerned the uncovering of the government-endorsed sale of arms by British companies to Iraq, then under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
[2] Matrix Churchill was an engineering company based in Coventry, with expertise in both the design and manufacture of precision machine tools.
New directors were appointed including two who worked for the Iraqi security services and the company began shipping components for Saddam Hussein's secret weapons programme.
As one of the other directors claimed to have been working for the British intelligence services, the Ministry of Defence advised Matrix Churchill on how to apply for export licences of materials that could be used to make munitions in such a way that would not attract attention.
When Alan Clark admitted under oath that he had been "economical with the actualité" in answering questions regarding what he knew about the policy on arms exports to Iraq, the trial collapsed and triggered the Scott Inquiry, which reported in 1996.