Bahrain – Siding with the Rulers

An edited extract from Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World by Mark Curtis Bahrain has provided a good test case for how seriously New Labour under Blair would address human rights abuses committed by traditional British allies. And whether it would be prepared to support opposition groups calling for greater political participation […]

Dreaming of Empire? UK Foreign Policy Post-Brexit

Report written by Mark Curtis for Global Justice Now. To read the PDF version go here. November 2016 Since the EU referendum on 23 June, many people have theorised on what the consequences for British foreign policy might be. Some have stressed the dangers, others the opportunities. Nearly six months on, a picture is gradually […]

Britain’s Seven Covert Wars

Published in the Huffington Post, 18 October 2016 by Mark Curtis Britain is fighting at least seven covert wars in the Middle East and North Africa, outside of any democratic oversight or control. Whitehall has in effect gone underground, with neither parliament nor the public being allowed to debate, scrutinise or even know about these […]

Britain’s Dangerous and Ignored Special Relationship With Oman

Published in the Huffington Post, 11 August 2016 Mark Curtis Outside significant mainstream media coverage, Britain is stepping up its support for the dictatorships in the Arabian Gulf and its ability to conduct military interventions in the Middle East. The strategy is illustrated in Whitehall’s long-standing but ignored special relationship Whitehall with Oman, the secretive, […]

Arming Repression – Today Programme, 2 January 2014

Mark Curtis’ piece on British arms exports can be listened to here. (The piece begins at 38:01) A transcript of the piece is below: **  Archive of recent protests in Egypt being put down by the Egyptian military This is the sound of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt being fired on by the Egyptian military. Hundreds […]

British support for the Saudi intervention in Bahrain

An edited extract from Secret Affairs Saudi Arabia and the utility of intervention Whitehall’s long-standing special relationship with the theocratic rulers in Riyadh has been enhanced by the new coalition government at a time when evidence continues to emerge on the extent of Saudi funding of terrorism and when the Saudis have taken drastic measures […]

New, updated edition of Secret Affairs: Britain’s Collusion with Radical Islam

The new,updated edition of Secret Affairs: Britain’s Collusion with Radical Islam was published on 22 March 2012. Read the introduction here Order the book here Read the media release here