ShellNews.net: Shell undercover agents: What the Irish pipeline protestors can expect: “We have more than one letter from Shell Legal Director/Shell International General Counsel, Richard Wiseman, admitting the “activities” of a Shell undercover agent, Mr Christopher Phillips.”: Published Monday 11 July 2005
By John Donovan
So how can the protestors in Ireland expect to be treated by Shell in the current Corrib pipeline troubles? Imprisonment of protestors and mass public protests have already occurred. Will Shell be honest and open in line with its code of business ethics, or ruthless and underhand in the ongoing litigation? We can speak with some authority on the matter having had a few battles with Shell ourselves.
During the course of bouts of High Court and other litigation between Royal Dutch Shell and the owners of this website (Alfred and John Donovan) Shell and its then solicitors, Kendall Freeman, has admitted in writing the use of agents who engaged in undercover activity. Mr “Christopher Philips” was exposed after using false credentials and a false cover story while on an intelligence gathering mission for Shell. We have more than one letter from Shell Legal Director/Shell International General Counsel, Richard Wiseman, admitting the activities of Mr Phillips.
During the run up to our last High Court trial against Shell we and our solicitors were besieged by undercover agents whose activities intimidated our lawyers and witnesses.
Shell has a history of involvement with British Intelligence. It has shared common directors/shareholders with one UK private intelligence company, Hakluyt, which many British MP’s have concluded is the commercial arm of MI6. Furthermore, Shell has admitted using a serving German Secret Service agent on clandestine missions involving infiltration and sabotage operations against perceived enemies, including Greenpeace, The Body Shop and other NGO’s. See the Sunday Times article below for details.
MI6 'Firm' Spied on Green Groups (Sunday Times archive article 17 June 2001)
The German agent was working on a freelance basis for Hakluyt which has admitted using serving members of the secret services on that basis. It’s admitted modus operandi is to import foreign agents to carry out a mission and thereafter immediately leave the legal jurisdiction in which the undercover activities have been carried out.
In certain correspondence and other material published on this website, asterisks have been used as a substitute for the name of an American who arrived in the UK and used false pretences to track down and interview our solicitor and witnesses. He subsequently contacted us after we and the Guardian newspaper identified him as being a probable CIA agent. The individual in question denies being a spy but concedes that he has all of the credentials and background, including being identified on the US National Security Archive website in a way that would lead someone legitimately to arrive at that conclusion. Indeed, even one of his own family members has raised the question of whether he is an American spy. Since we have no wish to place him or his family in jeopardy (he is located in mainland Europe), or put ourselves in danger for that matter, we have removed every mention of his name from this website. We have been in correspondence with the gentleman in question as recently as 10 July 2005.
We have nothing against MI6/Hakluyt, or the CIA. We support these vitally important organisations in carrying out dangerous duties in the national interest of their respective governments. However, we believe that it is wrong for any serving government intelligence agents to be used on a freelance basis or otherwise by a multinational corporation in missions targeted against its perceived enemies.
THE DENIALS
Mr Christopher James, the Managing Director of Hakluyt Limited, who is a former or current senior MI6 officer, wrote a carefully drafted letter to us saying that as far as he was aware Hakluyt was not involved in any matters related to us – a copy of his actual letter can be accessed on the link below. We pointed out in a response that he could have simply stated that Hakluyt had no involvement but instead gave a restricted answer. Our correspondence with Hakluyt was itself an episode of intrigue of which the UK Intelligence and Security Committee (of the House of Commons) is well aware.
Although Shell has made admissions about the “activities” of “Mr Christopher Philips” (we have never been able to trace this individual or the firm he falsely purported to be representing) Shell has categorically denied any involvement in: -
Suffolk Police investigated these matters and carried out interviews at Shell-Mex House. To the best of our knowledge, Shell did not disclose to the Police its then close association with Hakluyt, the firm which at the time was secretly engaged in similar espionage activities on Shell’s behalf against other parties hostile to Shell. Its President and Chairman – the Hakluyt spymasters - were both titled Shell directors and major shareholders in Shell and Hakluyt.
The extraordinary correspondence related to Hakluyt is accessible below: -
LETTER FAXED TO HAKLUYT/MI6 SPY FIRM 2 JUNE 04
LETTER FAXED TO HAKLUYT MI6 SPY FIRM REGARDING EMAIL FROM CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOLICITOR, 3 JUNE 04
LETTER FAXED TO HAKLUYT MI6 SPY FIRM 4 June 2004
LETTER TO INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE 4 JUNE 04
EMAIL EXCHANGE WITH MR MIKE WEBSTER. CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOLICITOR 7 JUNE 04
LETTER TO HER MAJESTY, QUEEN ELIZABETH II, SUPREME GOVERNOR OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 7 JUNE 04
LETTER TO THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE 7 JUNE 04
LETTER FAXED TO SHELL DIRECTOR, SIR MARK MOODY-STUART 7 JUNE 04
LETTER TO THE LORD CHANCELLOR, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, LORD FALCONER 7 JUNE 04
LETTER RECEIVED FROM MR CHRISTOPHER JAMES OF HAKLUYT 8 JUNE 04
LETTER FAXED TO MR CHRISTOPHER JAMES OF HAKLUYT 8 JUNE 04
LEGAL STUFF (NO NEED TO READ UNLESS YOU ARE A SHELL LAWYER, OR SOMEONE WITH A DEEP INTEREST IN SHELL, OR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OR COPYRIGHT ISSUES)
LEGAL STATEMENT BY THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP REGARDING THIS WEBSITE: I, Alfred Donovan, would like to remind Shell lawyers that the "group" has placed on record its acknowledgement of my freedom to air my opinions about Shell on ShellNews.net. I did of course already have rights under various freedom of expression conventions and declarations but its nice to know that Shell, one of the multinational rulers of our planet, recognises this fact. The Royal Dutch Shell Group made the following unusual statement in a legal document in regards to this website: - "The... Group... have been aware of the site since the beginning and whilst they would not endorse or agree with many of the comments made by the Respondent on the website, they have taken the view that the Respondent is entitled to express his opinions and to use the Internet as a medium for doing so." This statement drafted by Shell lawyers and authorised by the "Group", amounts to tacit approval/acceptance/recognition of this website by Shell. It was submitted to The World Intellectual Property Organisation in May 2005 by Shell International Petroleum Company Limited on behalf of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in proceedings against me, Alfred Donovan, as the "Respondent" (owner) of three domain names, including www.royaldutchshellplc.com. It remains a mystery why Shell has taken an entirely different view regarding the fundamental human right to freedom of expression in respect of the former Shell geologist Dr John Huong, the well-known Shell whistle-blower, in relation to postings under his name elsewhere on this same website. Eight companies within the Royal Dutch Shell Group collectively obtained a High Court Injunction to silence him. The Injunction remains in force.
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