LONDON -- Eighty Iraqi military pilots are being trained in Britain by a private company run by a former Ministry of Defense employee, the Observer newspaper said Sunday.
Britain has maintained an official position of neutrality over the Iran-Iraq conflict since the war began in 1980, but the report suggested the pilots' training would benefit British commercial interests.
'The Iraqi pilots are being trained to a level at which they can be introduced to advanced jet trainers such as the Hawk, which British Aerospace hopes to sell to Iraq,' the report said.
According to the Observer the pilots are being trained by Specialist Flying Training Ltd., whose managing director is ex-Royal Air Force Squadron Leader John Davy.
Before leaving the RAF last August, Davy worked at the Ministry of Defense's flying training center, which is kept fully informed of training requirements for all air forces worldwide, the report said.
The Observer said Davy was reluctant to discuss his work with the firm while he was working concurrently at the Ministry. But he told the newspaper the Ministry had given the company its official approval and helped it in its work.
The Ministry denied this, saying it had only recently become aware of the firm's activities.
