Declassified UK

Last updated

Declassified UK
Declassified UK logo.png
Type of site
News and investigative journalism
Founder(s)
EditorMark Curtis
URL www.declassifieduk.org
Launched2019
Current statusActive

Declassified UK is an investigative journalism and media organisation founded in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis. It describes itself as "the leading media organisation uncovering the UK's role in the world." [1] Curtis is an established author on UK foreign and aid policy, and Kennard is a journalist who formerly worked at the Financial Times and wrote for numerous other newspapers.

Contents

After Declassified UK had published articles relating to the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry refused to engage or provide further comment to the news organisation. This effective blacklisting in September 2020 led the Council of Europe to issue a media freedom alert for the UK. The UK government only intervened to reverse the blacklisting after Declassified UK threatened legal action in the matter. [2]

Declassified UK has been regulated by IMPRESS since June 2021. [3]

History

Declassified UK was set up in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis and was at first hosted on the website of the Daily Maverick , an independent South African website, before launching a standalone website on 20 September 2021. [4] Kennard is an investigative journalist and author who has previously written for news outlets such as The Guardian , the Financial Times , openDemocracy and The Intercept , usually focusing on Britain's role on the international stage. [5] Curtis is a historian and journalist who has written extensively about post-Second World War period foreign policy of the British government, publishing numerous works on the subject. [6] Declassified's chief reporter is Phil Miller, an investigative journalist, author and filmmaker whose book Keenie Meenie explores the history of Keenie Meenie Services, a British mercenary organization. [7]

Board members at Declassified include South African former MP Andrew Feinstein and former Guardian security editor and defence correspondent Richard Norton-Taylor; its advisors include former Guardian associate foreign editor Victoria Brittain, activist and musician Lowkey, American journalist Glenn Greenwald and Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi. [8]

Its website says: "The 'mainstream' UK media is not uncovering the reality of Britain's role in the world and the public is being largely kept in the dark. This means that governments are not being held to account for their policies. The problem is not just with the UK's right-wing, billionaire-owned media but also with its more 'liberal' outlets and the BBC, the most popular source of news for the British public. The British media are less and less mainstream – and are if anything becoming even more embedded in the establishment, regularly amplifying extremist policies that support war, human rights abusers and corporations contributing to catastrophic climate change. The government publishes key information on its policies virtually every day which is often very revealing. But only a tiny proportion of this is ever covered in the establishment media. Those journalists choose not to cover it, or else don't care. We do. However, much remains hidden. Britain's culture of secrecy is deeply embedded in Whitehall. This means that numerous government policies are hidden from the same public who should be able to hold a government to account in a democracy. These hidden policies often need to be exposed, and the secret state challenged." [8] [ excessive quote ]

Exclusives

In August 2020, Declassified published a story about a British soldier, Ahmed Al-Batati, being investigated by the Royal Military Police for protesting UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. British missiles, fighter jets and bombs have been used in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen since 2015. [9]

In November 2020, Declassified revealed that the United Kingdom had 145 overseas military bases, many more than the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had previously claimed. [10]

In February 2021, it revealed that figures from the British royal family had had more than 200 meetings with leaders of "tyrannical" Middle Eastern monarchies since the start of the Arab Spring in February 2011. These included 44 meetings with the Bahraini House of Khalifa and 40 with the Saudi regime. [11]

On 8 September 2021, in the wake of the final withdrawal of the United States troops from Afghanistan, Phil Miller reported that "a Cold War-era file on Margaret Thatcher's support for the Afghan mujahideen" was being censored by the UK government. This was despite the fact that the documents has become eligible for release to the National Archives under the 30-year rule. [12]

On 3 January 2022, Richard Norton-Taylor reported that "British warships deployed to the South Atlantic after Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982" were armed with 31 nuclear depth charges. [13] The story was later picked up by Argentine newspaper Clarín and British tabloid, the Daily Express . [14] [15]

Ministry of Defence media blacklisting

In August 2020, Declassified journalist Phil Miller, who wrote the piece about Ahmed Al-Batati, asked the MoD for comment. An MoD press officer responded by questioning what angle Miller's article was taking and claimed not to know much about Declassified; the officer later told Miller, "we no longer deal with your publication". [16] Following this, the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organisation, issued an alert warning of a serious breach of press freedom. [17] [18] In addition, the International Press Institute wrote a letter to the MoD and the Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, asking them to clarify the reason for the blacklisting. [19]

After the MoD issued an apology, [20] Declassified editor Mark Curtis told Press Gazette : "We are looking at taking legal action against the MoD because we think they have certainly acted against the Civil Service Code, for example, and there may be other codes of conduct or other legal requirements that they might not be consistent with by telling us that." [16] The National Union of Journalists called upon Wallace to intervene [21] and an independent review was later ordered. [2] The inquiry was headed by Tom Kelly, who was one of Tony Blair's Downing Street press spokespeople when Blair was Prime Minister. It found that MoD press officers believed their communications director had "sanctioned a blanket ban" on giving any comment to the website. [22] Curtis said, "It is clear that Declassified was blacklisted, which is contrary to the way that public officials are required to deal with news organisations. The MoD should admit it and stop trying to let its most senior media official off the hook. The MoD is used to dealing mainly with compliant journalists who are happy to follow the official line. Declassified is different, and seeks instead to perform a public service by revealing what governments do." [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of the United Kingdom

The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.

BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security and aerospace company, based in London, England. It is the biggest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. Its largest operations are in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense. Its next biggest markets are Saudi Arabia, then Australia; other major markets include Canada, Japan, India, Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Sweden. The company was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion purchase of and merger of Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc (GEC), with British Aerospace, an aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)</span> UK Government department responsible for defence

The Ministry of Defence is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skynet (satellite)</span> Communications satellite

Skynet is a family of military communications satellites, now operated by Babcock International on behalf of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD). They provide strategic and tactical communication services to the branches of the British Armed Forces, the British intelligence agencies, some UK government departments and agencies, and to allied governments. Since 2015 when Skynet coverage was extended eastward, and in conjunction with an Anik G1 satellite module over America, Skynet offers near global coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic Weapons Establishment</span> UK Ministry of Defence nuclear research and manufacturing facility

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) with its main site on the former RAF Aldermaston and has major facilities at Burghfield, Blacknest and RNAD Coulport.

QinetiQ is a multinational defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabilities for air, land, sea and target systems.

Richard Seymour Norton-Taylor is a British editor, journalist, and playwright. He wrote for The Guardian on defence and security matters from 1975 to 2016, and was the newspaper's security editor. He now works for the investigative journalism site Declassified UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Pope (journalist)</span> British UFO writer

Nick Pope is a media commentator and former civil servant. Whilst an employee at the British Government's Ministry of Defence (MoD), Pope was responsible, among other duties, for investigating UFO phenomena to determine if they had any defence significance.

Mark Curtis is a British author, historian and journalist who is the co-founder and editor of media organisation Declassified UK. He is also the author of several books on British foreign policy since the Second World War, including Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam, Unpeople: Britain's Secret Human Rights Abuses and Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RNAD Coulport</span> UK nuclear warhead storage depot in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport, shortened to RNAD Coulport, on Loch Long in Argyll, Scotland, is the storage and loading facility for the nuclear warheads of the United Kingdom's Trident programme.

<i>Dreadnought</i>-class submarine Class of British nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines

The Dreadnought class is the future replacement for the Vanguard class of ballistic missile submarines. Like their predecessors they will carry Trident II D-5 missiles. The Vanguard submarines entered service in the United Kingdom in the 1990s with an intended service life of 25 years. Their replacement is necessary if the Royal Navy is to maintain a continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD), the principle of operation behind the Trident system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trident (UK nuclear programme)</span> British nuclear programme for the development, procurement and operation of Trident nuclear weapons

Trident, also known as the Trident nuclear programme or Trident nuclear deterrent, covers the development, procurement and operation of nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom and their means of delivery. Its purpose as stated by the Ministry of Defence is to "deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, which cannot be done by other means". Trident is an operational system of four Vanguard-class submarines armed with Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, able to deliver thermonuclear warheads from multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). It is operated by the Royal Navy and based at Clyde Naval Base on the west coast of Scotland. At least one submarine is always on patrol to provide a continuous at-sea capability. The missiles are manufactured in the United States, while the warheads are British.

Matthew "Matt" Kennard is an English author and journalist. He is head of investigations at the investigative journalism website Declassified UK, which he co-founded with author and historian Mark Curtis. Kennard has previously written for the New Statesman, The Guardian, the Financial Times, openDemocracy and The Intercept. He has also appeared on Novara Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence (Pakistan)</span> Pakistani government ministry responsible for military and national defense matters

The Ministry of Defence, is an executive ministry of the federal Government of Pakistan, tasked in defending national interests and territorial integrity of Pakistan. The MoD oversees mission execution of its policies and supervises all agencies of the government directly related to the national security and the Pakistan Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence Police</span> Civilian police force of the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated high-risk areas, as well as uniformed policing and limited investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom. The MDP are not military police. Service personnel often refer to the MDP by the nickname "MOD plod".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Army Training Unit Kenya</span> British Army training support unit in Kenya

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is a training support unit of the British Army located in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom</span>

Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare and maintain a forward presence. Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance, often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces, as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. Most of the bases are located on British Overseas Territories or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the British government.

Keenie Meenie Services, was a British private military contractor set up by former Special Air Service (SAS) officers in 1975. It operated as a mercenary force in countries where the United Kingdom had political interests, such as Oman, Uganda, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

This is the structure of the British Armed Forces, as of October 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Lakenheath nuclear weapons accidents</span> Accidental damage to nuclear weapons, RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, United Kingdom

RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, one of several air bases in the United Kingdom which was used by the United States Air Force to store nuclear weapons during the Cold War, was the site of accidents involving nuclear weapons, in 1956 and 1961.

References

  1. ↑ "About Declassified UK". Declassified UK. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 Declassified UK staff (22 September 2020). "Government apologises to Declassified UK as defence minister orders independent review into blacklisting". Declassified UK. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Declassified UK". IMPRESS.
  4. ↑ Declassified UK [@declassifiedUK] (19 September 2021). "Our new website launches tomorrow, with a week of revelations and our AMA with Chomsky on Weds at 6pm.
    It's two years since we established. Thanks to all our public supporters and independent trust funders, we're moving to another level"     (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2021– via Twitter.
  5. ↑ "Matt Kennard". The Intercept. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  6. ↑ Lucas, Caroline (5 July 2003). "Perfidious Albion". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Keenie Meenie". Pluto Press. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Who we are". Declassified UK. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Miller, Phil (25 August 2020). "Military police probe British soldier over Yemen war protest". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick . Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Miller, Phil (24 November 2020). "REVEALED: The UK military's overseas base network involves 145 sites in 42 countries". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  11. ↑ Miller, Phil (23 February 2021). "Revealed: British royals met tyrannical Middle East monarchies over 200 times since Arab Spring erupted 10 years ago". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Miller, Phil (8 September 2021). "Margaret Thatcher's support for Afghan jihadists covered up by UK censors". Declassified UK. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  13. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (3 January 2022). "UK deployed 31 nuclear weapons during Falklands War". Declassified UK. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "El Gobierno pedirá explicaciones a Gran Bretaña por la presencia de armas nucleares en la Guerra de Malvinas" [The Government will ask Great Britain for explanations for the presence of nuclear weapons in the Malvinas War]. Clarín (in Spanish). 5 January 2022.
  15. ↑ King, Jon (7 January 2022). "Falklands row erupts as Argentina issues stunning nuclear weapons warning to UK". Daily Express. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Investigative Media Outlet "Declassified UK" Blacklisted by the Ministry of Defence". Council of Europe. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Stone, Jon (6 September 2020). "Council of Europe issues media freedom alert over UK government blacklisting of investigative journalists". The Independent . Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  18. ↑ Griffen, Scott (4 September 2020). "Investigative news outlet Declassified UK blacklisted by Ministry of Defence". International Press Institute. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  19. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (22 September 2020). "MoD apologises after press office refused to engage with Declassified journalists". Press Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (27 August 2020). "Declassified UK: Ministry of Defence blacklists British journalists who report on UK military". Declassified UK. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  21. 1 2 "UK defence ministry blacklisted website critical of its Middle East policies, finds inquiry". Middle East Eye . 8 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.