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Secretive ‘spy’ firm met UK minister to discuss PPE supply
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Date:None

A British trade minister met with a secretive intelligence firm last year, to discuss the government’s efforts to secure essential supplies such as PPE and medical equipment.

openDemocracy can reveal that the minister for investment, Lord Grimstone, met with Hakluyt & Company Ltd last November. No minutes were taken of the meeting between Grimstone and the firm, which is known as a “retirement home for ex-MI6 officers” and is chaired by the government’s PPE ‘tsar’, Lord Deighton.

The Department for International Trade has refused to confirm which Hakluyt representatives attended. But internal documents seen by openDemocracy show that a government operation called Project DEFEND was discussed at the meeting.

Project DEFEND was set up in the early months of the pandemic – reportedly in a bid to reduce the UK’s reliance on China for medical equipment, PPE and other essential supplies.

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Founded by a former MI6 officer, Hakluyt boasts the former head of GCHQ, Iain Lobban, as an adviser – along with former bosses of multinationals such as HSBC, Rolls-Royce and Unilever.

The company was accused of spying on environmental campaign groups in 2001, to collect information for oil companies including Shell and BP. Its list of clients is kept secret, but the company saw revenue grow to a record £67.2m last year.

In 2012, a murdered British businessman, who was believed to be an ‘MI6 informant’ in China, was also reported to have previous links to Hakluyt.

The government has previously refused to disclose details of its operation to secure PPE and medical equipment, citing “obvious security reasons”.
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