Liam Fox in Afghanistan last year (Image c/o Defence Images on Flickr)

The storm over Liam Fox’s links with his friend and supposed ‘adviser’, Adam Werritty, certainly appears to be gathering at quite a pace.  For those who have not been following the case, there have been allegations of wrong-doing in relation to the position of Werritty, particularly in terms of the distribution of business cards embossed with parliament’s portcullis logo that describe him as an “adviser to the Rt Hon Dr Fox MP”.  Fox has now asked the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence to launch an investigation into the allegations.  Whilst it is clear that there is a broader scandal brewing here, one particular aspect of the allegations particularly interests me.

For a few years now I have been aware of the activities of a charity that Fox had some involvement with called Atlantic Bridge.  According to The Guardian, the newspaper claims it has:

“…established that Werritty used Fox’s room 341 in the MPs’ block at Portcullis House as the official headquarters of a rightwing charity, the Atlantic Bridge, which works in conjunction with a major US business lobby group. The office was provided to Fox at taxpayers’ expense while he was in opposition until last year.”

I first came across Atlantic Bridge a couple of years ago when I stumbled across Stephen Newton’s blog.  Stephen has a fairly comprehensive set of blog posts about Atlantic Bridge and the controversy surrounding it and I certainly recommend having a read through it.  Ostensibly, the charity was a think-tank developed to further develop the relationship between the US and the UK.  However, during its lifetime as a think-tank it barely produced a single paper and, during the course of one year, spent over £80,000 on just three events, two of which were in partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (a US based lobby group who were used by the tobacco industry to receive favours and donations from American politicians).

Concerns about their charity status were further raised by their stated goals:

“…this project aims to foster positive relationships between conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic, so they may further the ideals exemplified by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.” [my emphasis]

Such concerns led to the Charity Commission to investigate the ‘charity’ and to publish a report censuring them for potentially leading “members of the public to call into question its independence from party politics.”  Unsurprisingly, the organisation has been wound down, although its website states that it is ‘currently being updated’.

Amongst the many aspects that should concern observers is the way in which a charity can be used to promote a particular political ideology, particularly under the guise of an ‘education and research scheme’.  Rather than a reputable charitable organisation, Atlantic Bridge appeared to be a vessel for disseminating politicised information designed to further the goals of those behind it.  That such a body can be given charitable status and prosper for several years unchecked should trouble anyone concerned about education and the spread of mis-information.  Fortunately, for the moment at least, Atlantic Bridge is now consigned to the past.  The question is, how long before Liam Fox goes the same way?