By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 23 July 2020 In the two years since a British citizen died following a chemical attack by Russian military intelligence officers in southern England, the UK government has licenced £232-million worth of controlled equipment to Russia, Declassified UK has found. Former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal […]
Topic: Arms
By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 20 July 2020 Eyewitnesses in Yemen tell Declassified UK’s reporter on the ground about the aftermath of an airstrike that killed a young girl and her grandmother. “At first we suddenly heard an explosion. We saw a light that filled the store and the neighbourhood. We thought […]
by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 3 June 2020 GCHQ, the UK’s largest intelligence agency, is secretively promoting arms companies involved in war crimes to British school children, apparently without the informed consent of parents, it can be revealed. Declassified UK can reveal that a secretive GCHQ programme is allowing officials from British and American arms companies involved […]
by Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 25 March 2020 Britain plans to spend hundreds of billions of pounds on extravagant military projects while the UK’s under-funded public health system struggles to address pandemics such as the coronavirus, new analysis shows. The British government will likely need to spend more than £200-billion over the next decade to […]
by Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 7 February 2020 UK governments routinely claim to uphold national and international law. But the reality of British policies is quite different, especially when it comes to foreign policy and so-called “national security”. This explainer summarises 17 long-running government policies which violate UK domestic or international law. British foreign secretary […]
by Mark Curtis and Matt Kennard Declassified UK, 14 November 2019 The husband of Lady Emma Arbuthnot, the Westminster chief magistrate overseeing Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, has financial links to the British military establishment, including individuals and institutions exposed by Wikileaks. It can also be revealed that Lady Arbuthnot has received gifts […]
by Mark Curtis and Matt Kennard Declassified UK, 20 September 2019 The British government is continuing to approve the export of hi-tech surveillance equipment and software of the type that is being used by states abusing human rights to monitor and repress dissent, new government figures show. The government’s exports of “telecommunications interception equipment” to […]
Cover note: this paper analyses the “disadvantages under which we operate in Africa due to our inability, in contrast to the Communist powers, to supply arms on concessionary terms” and the “lack of enthusiasm” in this by the Treasury, Overseas Development Ministry and ECGD. Paper. “With rare exceptions, British policy in Africa has been to […]
By Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 27 March 2019 On Tuesday in the British parliament, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry asked an urgent question relating to allegations that British troops have been covertly fighting in Yemen and supporting the Saudi-led coalition. As reported in the Mail on Sunday, five British special forces troops from the elite Special Boat […]
by Mark Curtis Published in Middle East Eye, 6 December 2018 Britain’s international trade secretary, Liam Fox, recently visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging to increase trade and investment between the two countries, which already stands at a record $9bn. While more than 230 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured by Israeli forces since […]