Britain’s 42 coups since 1945

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 12 January 2023 The UK has planned or executed over 40 attempts to remove foreign governments in 27 countries since the end of the Second World War, involving the intelligence agencies, covert and overt military interventions and assassinations, Declassified has found. Probably the most well-known coup staged by British intelligence […]

Former UN envoy to Yemen linked to MI6, a party to the war

by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 5 January 2023 Martin Griffiths, a Briton who now runs the United Nations’ humanitarian work, co-founded and advises a private conflict resolution company that “works closely” with MI6. He was until recently the UN special envoy to Yemen. The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, was […]

Counter-terrorism officials allowed Manchester bomber to operate in Libya war zone

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 28 June 2022 MI5 and Greater Manchester Police had numerous opportunities to stop Salman Abedi gaining military experience and contacts in Libya for years before the 2017 Manchester bombing – but they gave him free rein. Salman Abedi was never detained at UK border despite his known contacts with extremists […]

Manchester bomber was a UK ally

by Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 27 June 2022 Salman Abedi and his closest family were part of Libyan militias benefitting from British covert military support six years before he murdered 22 people at the Manchester Arena in 2017. He is likely to have been radicalised by his experience. Close friend of Abedi convicted of terrorism […]

Four failed wars must finally force the UK to adopt an ethical foreign policy

By Phil Miller and Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 25 August 2021 Britain’s regime change operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have been catastrophic. A key reason is that UK policy has no moral consistency — friends and enemies are interchangeable over time, based purely on short-term pragmatism and rarely on ethical concerns or the […]

Revealed: The UK has spent £350 million promoting regime change in Syria

By Mark Curtis, Declassified UK, 20 July 2021 A controversial Whitehall body — the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund — has used large amounts of money from the British aid budget to support the opposition in Syria. Declassified outlines the extent of this funding for the first time. The UK government has spent at least […]

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 […]

Revelations about UK covert operations in Syria challenge media narratives on the war

by Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 18 May 2020 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 little role in the conflict […]

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 is misinforming the public about Britain’s role in the world

by Mark Curtis Declassified UK, 9 March 2020 Britain’s national press consistently portrays Britain as a supporter of noble objectives such as human rights and democracy. The extraordinary extent to which the public is being misinformed about the UK’s foreign and military policies is revealed in new statistical research by Declassified UK. The research suggests […]