Chief magistrate in Assange case received financial benefits from secretive partner organisations of UK Foreign Office

by Mark Curtis and Matt Kennard Declassified UK, 21 February 2020 The senior judge overseeing the extradition proceedings of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange received financial benefits from two partner organisations of the British Foreign Office before her appointment, it can be revealed. It can further be revealed that Lady Emma Arbuthnot was appointed Chief Magistrate […]

Explainer: Is the UK a rogue state? 17 British policies violating domestic or international law

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 […]

How Britain helped Iran’s Islamic regime destroy the left-wing opposition

By Mark Curtis and Phil Miller Declassified UK, 21 January 2020 Britain supported Iran’s new Islamic regime in crushing the last remaining opposition to its rule in 1983 while the UK’s leading official in the country joked about Iran’s torture techniques, declassified files reveal. The UK’s secret intelligence service, MI6, worked with the CIA to […]

REVEALED: Britain rebuffed Nelson Mandela’s appeal for oil sanctions against Nigeria after it executed environmentalists

By Phil Miller and Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 31 December 2019 The British government rejected Nelson Mandela’s personal appeal to impose oil sanctions on Nigeria after its military regime executed nine environmental activists in 1995 as it wanted to protect oil company Shell’s commercial interests, newly declassified files reveal. The British files, released under the […]

The son of Julian Assange’s judge is linked to an anti-data leak company created by the UK intelligence establishment

by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 15 November 2019 The son of Julian Assange’s senior judge is linked to an anti-data leak company created by the UK intelligence establishment and staffed by officials recruited from the US intelligence agencies behind that country’s prosecution of the Wikileaks founder. The son of Lady Emma Arbuthnot, […]

Julian Assange’s judge and her husband’s links to the British military establishment exposed by Wikileaks

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 […]

The UK’s secret military unit that answers to Saudi Arabian commanders

By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 28 October 2019 The UK military has a team of high-ranking soldiers embedded in the Saudi Arabian armed forces who are believed to be taking their orders from Saudi commanders, it can be revealed. The British programme, details of which have long been kept secret from the […]

How the British establishment is working to keep Bahrain’s ruling family in power

By Mark Curtis and Matt Kennard Declassified UK, 17 October 2019 The British military and intelligence establishment is playing a key role in fortifying the repressive regime in Bahrain, it can be revealed. Influential British figures, including former senior UK military officers and the former MI6 controller for the Middle East, have been advising the […]

Britain’s secret Saudi military support programme

by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 27 September 2019 The UK’s Ministry of Defence has mistakenly admitted for the first time the cost of a secret multibillion-pound programme it manages for the Saudi Arabian royal family’s de facto protection force, which is also active in the devastating war in Yemen. It can also […]

British government continues to aid repression in human rights-abusing countries, new data shows

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 […]