Declassified has discovered a secret UK government committee that held meetings with an arms dealer, former oil executive and ex-spy — but parliament is told there are ‘no records’ of what was discussed.
Middle East
UK military deepens ties with regime accused of funding terror groups
Britain’s Royal Air Force is about to establish a second fighter squadron with Qatar, an authoritarian Gulf state accused of supporting extremist groups across the Middle East which the UK itself opposes and says promote terrorism.
Gulf spymaster who bought John Terry’s £16m mansion challenged over corruption
Middle East spy chief who bought a palatial property in the UK from former England football captain John Terry is being accused of corruption and human rights abuses, Declassified UK can reveal.
Northern Irish police trained Gulf regime ahead of crackdown
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is facing fresh scrutiny over its long-standing ‘public order’ and security training of Omani police, following last month’s suppression of protests in the country.
Former British minister: ‘The Israelis think they control the Foreign Office. And they do!’
The recently published diaries of former foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan provide an unprecedented window into the influence the Israeli government and affiliated pro-Israel lobby groups have over the UK Foreign Office.
Aircraft carrier base threatens endangered whales
British officials did not consider the environmental impact of a new naval base in the Indian Ocean, despite evidence it will have ‘large adverse’ consequences for a species of whale ‘at high risk of extinction’, Declassified has found.
Largest protests since Arab Spring sweep Oman as UK support for regime rises
As Oman’s UK-trained police confront popular protests against unemployment and corruption in the dictatorial Gulf state, the British military prepares to deploy an aircraft carrier to a new UK naval base in Oman, and the head of the Royal Air Force praises his Omani counterpart.
Four terrorists who murdered Britons fought in David Cameron’s war in Libya
The public inquiry into the 2017 Manchester terrorist attack shows no sign of investigating the UK’s covert role in the Libya war of 2011 — in which the Manchester bomber had fought. He is one of four terrorists from that conflict who went on to slaughter 63 people, mainly Britons, in separate attacks — and they may even have received military training from UK-allied forces.
Revealed: Third of cabinet, including Boris Johnson, has been funded by Israel or pro-Israel lobby groups
While the UK government has been backing Israel’s intense bombing campaign in Gaza, Declassified can reveal that a third of cabinet ministers and the foreign minister responsible for the Middle East, have been courted by the Israeli government or pro-Israel lobby groups.
UK spends millions training security forces to control Palestinians in West Bank and Lebanon
British aid projects supporting Palestinian security forces appear to be as much about helping to stop threats to Israel, the occupying power, as they are about enhancing Palestinian state-building.