UK says BAE-EADS must be free from government control

Britain will veto the proposed $45 billion merger between EADS and BAE Systems if its "red line" conditions are not met, British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday.

He told BBC radio the merged aerospace-defence group could not be controlled by any one government.

"It is not necessary to have no French or German government interest in the company. It is necessary to reduce that stake below the level at which it can control or direct the way the company acts," he said.

(Reporting by Tim Castle; editing by Ron Askew)