- guardian.co.uk, Friday March 5 1999 03.48 GMT
December 29: Said Ayas sets up an offshore company, Marks One Ltd, for Prince Mohammed.
January 9 1993: Aitken travels to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Prince Mohammed and Ayas about arms deals between British firms and Saudi Arabia.
January 15: Ayas flies to Geneva to set up an account to receive funds for Marks One, on Prince Mohammed's behalf.
January 28: Aitken escorts the prime minister, John Major, to Saudi Arabia. They meet King Fahd, who promises to buy large quantities of British weapons.
February: Aitken visits British arms manufacturer VSEL, urging it to do business with Saudi Arabia.
July 28: VSEL agrees to pay 10 per cent of any contract with Saudi Arabia into the Ayas-controlled Marks One account.
September 17: Ayas arranges a secret meeting in Paris with Prince Mohammed and Aitken to discuss arms deals. The meeting is cancelled and scheduled for the next day.
September 18: Aitken, Ayas and Prince Mohammed meet in Geneva. The prince agrees to exert his influence on the Saudi government to promote the arms deals. Ayas pays all the hotel bills over the weekend.
October: GEC signs an agreement with Ayas. For each frigate sold GEC is to pay 3 per cent, more than £4.5 million, into the Marks One account.
July 1994: Aitken joins the Cabinet as chief secretary to the Treasury.
May 1 1995: British helicopter firm Westland signs an agreement with Ayas to pay 9.5 per cent of sales to the Saudis via a Panama-registered company, Phillimore Holdings.
July 1995: Aitken resigns to fight a libel action against the Guardian and Granada's World in Action over allegations made about his dealings with Prince Mohammed.
June 20 1997: Aitken's libel action collapses after evidence is produced to show he lied in court about the events surrounding the Ritz weekend in September 1993. Aitken claimed his wife had been in Paris and paid his bill at the hotel. Statements signed by Ayas and Aitken's daughter, Victoria, supported his version of events.
December 9: Prince Mohammed issues a writ against Ayas for $231 million allegedly siphoned from the prince's bank accounts.
May 1998: Aitken and Ayas charged.
September 25: Phillimore Holdings closed, three days before Aitken required to swear an affidavit disclosing his worldwide interests.
January 19 1999: Aitken pleads guilty to perjury and perverting the course of justice.
March 4: charges against Ayas dropped.
