Iran 1953: MI6 plots with Islamists to overthrow democracy

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 1 August 2023 Declassified British files highlight a little known aspect of the joint MI6/CIA coup against Iran’s democratically elected government in August 1953 – UK covert action in support of leading radical Shia Islamists, the predecessors of Ayatollah Khomeini. In many accounts the CIA is regarded as the prime […]

How UK media mislead us about Britain’s leading military ‘think tank’

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 15 June 2023 The British press has quoted the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) hundreds of times in the past two years without informing readers it is funded by the UK military, US government and arms corporations, and that it’s a bastion of establishment interests. RUSI has been cited in […]

Blair misled parliament over 1998 Iraq bombing, files show

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 17 April 2023 Declassified documents from 1998, when the UK and US bombed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, show Tony Blair was consistently informed military action was unlawful without UN authorisation. But he told parliament Britain had “the proper legal authority”. Tony Blair and his closest advisers were consistently informed by British […]

Britain’s secret role in the brutal US war in Vietnam

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 16 November 2022 There is a myth the UK did not support Washington’s war against Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, Labour and Conservative governments backed every phase of US military escalation and played secret roles in the conflict, declassified files show. During its war in Vietnam in […]

‘CIA sidekick’ gives £2.6m to UK media groups

by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 17 January 2022 A US government-funded agency that claims to promote democracy but which helps undermine governments independent of Washington has moved decisively into Britain’s media space since 2016. National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has funded groups such as Bellingcat, Index on Censorship, Article 19, Finance Uncovered, […]

Secret ‘CIA-funded’ group linked to UK ministers

By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 9 December 2021 Two current ministers and two recent justice ministers have been funded by an opaque transatlantic right-wing group which includes members of the intelligence community. Declassified finds eight current Conservative parliamentarians are associated with the organisation. The group, known as Le Cercle, was described by former Conservative […]

Like billionaire-controlled media, The Guardian misinforms its readers on the UK’s role in world

By Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 26 April 2021 Millions of its readers believe the Guardian offers critical, independent reporting that is different to the right-wing, billionaire-controlled UK media. But its limited coverage of British foreign and security policies gives a misleading picture of what the UK does in the world. The paper is in reality […]

Sky News acts largely as a platform for the UK defence and foreign ministries, research finds

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 1 February 2021 Declassified UK’s analysis of the written outputs of three of Sky News’ principal foreign affairs journalists has found that the media outlet acts largely to amplify the views of the British Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office, while rarely offering critical, independent analysis. A study by Declassified, […]

British government ministers have been complicit in millions of deaths since 1945, so don’t be surprised that they won’t face justice over coronavirus

By Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 2 May 2020 The UK government’s failure to provide protective equipment to all health staff treating coronavirus victims prompts questions whether ministers are legally culpable for failing to prevent deaths. But UK ministers routinely act with impunity and every prime minister since 1945 has been complicit in deaths abroad. At […]

How the UK press supports the British military and intelligence establishment

by Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 11 March 2020 Britain’s national press is acting largely as a platform for the views of the UK military and intelligence establishment, new statistical research by Declassified UK shows.  The UK press, from The Times to The Guardian, is also routinely helping to demonise states identified by the British government as enemies, while tending to […]