Rolls-Royce was involved in corruption to land major contracts, an investigation has alleged.

The claim was made in a BBC documentary, which said that Rolls-Royce hired a network of agents and used bribes in order to land contracts in 12 countries.

Rolls-Royce declined to comment on any specific allegation made by the programme, but said: “We have made it clear that Rolls-Royce will not tolerate business misconduct or inappropriate behaviour of any kind and in recent years we have intensified our focus on ethics and compliance, which are foundations of our culture.”

It has been at the centre of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over bribery and corruption involving intermediaries in China and Indonesia since 2012.

In May, this inquiry was widened to look into operations in Nigeria. Rolls-Royce added that it is “fully co-operating with the authorities and we cannot comment on ongoing investigations,” and added that in 2014 it carried out a review and update of the Group's bribery and corruption policies. It stressed that "Our decision not to comment on any allegation or claim put to us is not an admission or confirmation.”​