The British government is pushing ahead with “espionage legislation” that could criminalise the release of public information and impose even stricter controls on the UK media as part of an “epidemic of secrecy”.
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When Britain failed to protect America from a flu pandemic in China
Before Covid-19, British colonial authorities allowed a deadly flu virus to spread from Hong Kong in 1968 with devastating consequences for the US and the rest of the world – one million people died.
British SAS soldier-turned-mercenary dies aged 86 without facing justice for war crimes
SAS veteran Brian Baty served on covert operations across the crumbling British empire from the 1950s, then sold his counter-insurgency experience to the Sri Lankan government, profiting from massacres of Tamil civilians. A UK minister said these killings should be investigated as war crimes days after Baty passed away unpunished, following decades of official cover-ups.
Exclusive: UK military and arms companies produce more carbon emissions than 60 individual countries
The greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK military and its supply chain are up to 11 times higher than admitted by the Ministry of Defence, which has produced a ‘pattern of flawed reporting’ on its environmental impacts, new research carried out for Declassified UK has found.
Revelations about UK covert operations in Syria challenge media narratives on the war
Newly-discovered documents show how UK covert operations in Syria helped ‘shape perceptions’ of the war. The British government effectively ran Syrian opposition groups’ media offices and created publicity material aimed at Syrian and UK audiences, challenging the idea the UK has played a small role in the conflict.
The Westminster model of democracy was already unwell – Coronavirus has further exposed its limits
With coronavirus killing tens of thousands of Britons, the government’s poor response to the crisis shows that the UK’s current form of ‘democracy’ cannot protect the public. The ‘Westminster model’ was developed to promote unregulated economic growth and prevent the public from real participation in how society is run.
Revealed: UK government broke inspection rules at arms factory supplying Saudis in Yemen war
A fighter jet factory in England providing essential parts for the Saudi air force has not been checked for over three years, missing the government’s own deadlines. Without supplies from this factory, it is likely Saudi Arabia would be unable to continue bombing Yemen during the coronavirus pandemic.
The British Armed Forces are using Covid-19 to solve a recruitment crisis and to heal their damaged reputation
The UK Ministry of Defence is using the Covid-19 pandemic to reverse a long-term recruitment crisis, which has seen it miss its enlistment targets for the past six years, and to repair damage to its reputation from the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Revealed: How Britain’s profiteering spymasters ignored the country’s biggest threats like coronavirus—and endangered the public
There is money and power in identifying Russia and cyber attacks as the key security threats facing Britain — but not in addressing the more important issues of pandemics and climate change. Former UK intelligence chiefs are personally profiting from the ‘revolving door’ between government and business, and the public is paying the price.
British ministers, complicit in millions of deaths since 1945, won’t face justice over coronavirus
The UK government’s failure to provide protective equipment to all health staff treating coronavirus victims prompts questions over whether ministers are legally culpable for failing to prevent deaths. But ministers routinely act with impunity and every prime minister since 1945 has been complicit in deaths abroad.