Qinetiq lobbies over golden rule
British defence technology company QinetiQ is pressing the UK government to make sweeping reforms to the “golden share” agreement that protects the firm from a foreign takeover. The firm’s chief executive, Leo Quinn, has been in talks with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about relaxing the terms of the golden share for months. Although the government wants to help ease the bureaucratic burden that the arrangement has put on the company, ministers also want to ensure that a change to the terms does not harm national security.