The Wikipedia summary is a bit limited, but basically the security services OK'd (and indeed ordered, I think) the company to ship weapon parts to Iraq past an embargo.
However, nobody told the customs authorities, who spotted it and started to prosecute the directors of the company. Their only defence was their (classified) instructions from the MOD which it would have been illegal for them to mention in court. They might have gone to jail had the whole thing not collapsed publicly.
In the US, it's quite concievable that someone could be ordered to do something by an NSL that is illegal.
But maybe I'm just optimistic and all play ball, nevertheless the world hate against the US will keep raising and being rightfully justified until one day the heat may be too much.
And some day in the future there might be a single European candidate that may run on an anti-US platform. Or maybe not.