Overview

• Leigh Day has sent a pre-action letter warning that embedding Shell and BAE Systems staff in the Foreign Office risks conflicts of interest and improper influence.
• The plan would place UK diplomats in major corporations while inviting private-sector employees into Whitehall to strengthen commercial diplomacy.
• The FCDO insists secondments are routine, will be governed by strict rules on confidentiality, information security and conflict management, and aim to boost British trade.
• Shell has disputed any wrongdoing suggested in the legal letter and BAE Systems has declined to comment on the allegations.
• Campaigners point to past human rights concerns against the two firms, and some media outlets have cast the row as a Labour ‘sleaze’ issue, heightening pressure for transparency.