Tony Blair on Friday defended the government’s decision to halt a Serious Fraud Office inquiry into bribery allegations against BAE Systems, saying he took full responsibility for the move.

The prime minister, speaking to reporters in Brussels, said that allowing the inquiry to continue risked doing “immense damage” to UK interests. Britain has been accused of caving in to pressure from Saudi Arabia to stop the investigation into a multi-billion dollar defence deal with Riyadh. Shares in BAE have surged on the news.