Foreign Policy Centre
The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues, with funding from George Soros. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of developing a "vision of a fair and rule-based world order" and supports the European Union.
FPC has its origins in New Labour[1], but works with all political parties.
Intelligence Links
In 'Going Back — Diplomacy for the Information Society' a Foreign Policy Centre publication by Mark Leonard the first person he thanks is David Reddaway, the son (and himself a former ambassador to Iran) of Norman Reddaway of the Information Research Department [2], and that is how one could describe the FPC — the son of IRD. The publication begins with a dire warning on the threat posed by a "planet-wide campaign of anti-globalisation activists" who are stealing a march on diplomats and politicians.
The FPC has direct connections to the intelligence services through Baroness Meta Ramsay of the Labour Friends of Israel who is also chair of the Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom. Steven Dorril's history of MI6 states that Ramsay was secretary of the International Student Conference (ISC) which allegedly acted as a CIA front. Its offshoot the FISC "shared an office" with the Overseas Students Trust which also seems to have had intelligence connections and worked within the NUS. Along with the IPPR the FPC was named as offering access for cash.[2]
Rowena Young (FPC and School for Social Entrepreneurs) is married to Geoff Mulgan and was Director of "Kaleidoscope", a project where CAN directors Adele Blakebrough and Andrew Mawson worked on their first ventures.
Former Communications director of the FPC Rob Blackhurst claims:
My former employer, the Foreign Policy Centre (patron: Tony Blair), has accepted more than £100,000 from an unnamed Russian oligarch to establish a programme on Russian democracy. The money does not come directly; it is channelled through London PR companies presided over by a retinue of former new Labour special advisers. The PR people want to shift public sympathy away from Vladimir Putin, who is at odds with several oligarchs, and they are no doubt delighted that the project has led to a paper criticising Downing Street's closeness to the Russian president.[3]
The unnamed Russian oligarch was Mikhail Khodorkovsky, at that time the richest man in Russia.
The FPC has also published, 'Global Europe'[4] which stems from their project of the same name which aimed: " to provide concrete policy recommendations concerning the European Security Strategy and new initiatives for European action". An overview of its approach is set out in Global Europe: Implementing the European Security Strategy by Mark Leonard and Richard Gowan[5] which was produced in association with The British Council, The European Commission and Wilton Park ("an academically independent and non-profit-making Executive Agency of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Launched in 1946, it has become one of the world's leading centres for discussion of key international policy challenges, organising about 50 conferences a year while holding to the values of its founders to promote honest and open debate on the key issues." [6]
Funding
The FPC has received funding from a number of partners: The Open Society Foundations (OSF); the Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ); the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); Bond; Lancaster University (in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York); the Peaceful Change initiative (in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust); the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD); the British Council; Aston University; and City, University of London.[7]
Known members
7 of the 82 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Helena Kennedy | Scottish barrister, broadcaster, member of the House of Lords. |
| Amil Khan | Security cleared Chatham House fellow who was proposed to be one of the 3 directors of the EXPOSE Network (together with Chris Donnelly of the Institute for Statecraft and Louis Brooke of the Zinc Network |
| Mark Leonard | Suspected UK DSO who founded the European Council on Foreign Relations. A regular the the Brussels Forum, MSC, WEF AGM. Authored Britain™: Renewing our Identity |
| John Lloyd | |
| Craig Oliphant | Member of the Integrity Initiative's Integrity Initiative/Cluster/UK/Inner Core |
| Jonathan Reynolds | |
| John Whittingdale |
Sponsors
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Lancaster University | Ranked in the top ten in all three national league tables |
| National Endowment for Democracy | The "traditional intermediary of the CIA", promoting the US "national interest" abroad by financing groups and individuals. |
| Open Society Foundations | A NGO operating in more countries than McDonald's. It has the tendency to support politicians (at times through astroturfing) and activists that get branded as "extreme left" as its founder is billionaire and bane of the pound George Soros. This polarizing perspective causes the abnormal influence of the OSF to go somewhat unanswered. |
| UK/FCDO |
References
- ↑ http://toolkit.northernbridge.ac.uk/engagingwithpolicymakers/engagingwiththethirdsector/ukthinktanks/
- ↑ The Observer 30/6/02
- ↑ (New Statesman, Jan 31, 2005 by Rob Blackhurst).
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ available at http://fpc.org.uk/publications/
- ↑ Wilton Park
- ↑ https://fpc.org.uk/support/
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