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Want to understand the routes of corporate power? Read ‘The corporation that changed the world’
Whether it’s Google, Amazon, Starbucks using legal loopholes to avoid corporation tax; Apple’s subcontractors’ deathly abuse of workers in China; the ongoing call for justice from Bhopal over Union Carbide; Shell, BP’s activities in numerous vulnerable oil-affected communities; the bailout of RBS and Lloyds/TSB as ‘too big to fail’; or G4S taking over running sections of…
21 Dec 2012 jane -
The true story behind Channel 4’s ‘Secret State’ – RBS’s dirty deals
Sometimes Platform is really late off the mark, but luckily a friend in Liverpool gave us a nudge. Thanks Lena. WARNING – this blog post contains spoilers. Channel 4’s recent 4-part political thriller ‘Secret State’ has an oil and finance storyline, elements of which uncannily mirror some of Platform’s current and recent campaigns. The plot…
11 Dec 2012 jane -
‘No more money for arms deals’ – but what about fossil fuels?
Last week, a cross-party inquiry called for Parliament to review the use of public money to support arms exports. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on international corporate responsibility said Parliament should debate introducing a ‘prohibition list’ of projects that the Government refuses to underwrite. They suggested arms sales should be at the top of it.…
3 Dec 2012 emma -
RBS finances Tullow’s drilling in Ghana
Tullow Oil Plc has secured a finance deal with a number of banks including the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland. The company says the $3.5m debt refinancing will in part be used for its operations in Ghana. Platform has watched the developments in Ghana closely. Amongst other concerns, Tullow has continued to flare…
15 Nov 2012 Mel -
The Russian roulette: Rosneft, BP, and the unknowns of Russian politics
TNK-BP, the British giant’s 50% joint venture with a group of Russian oligarchs, was bringing in about quarter of the firm’s production, and a lot of its political problems. BP’s solution: swap its shares in TNK-BP for cash and a near 20% stake in Rosneft, Russian state-owned company run by Igor Sechin, one of Vladimir…
7 Nov 2012 anna -
Hobbling the ‘dash for gas’ – the West Burton occupation
A big, bombastic huzzah for the 20 climate activists that infiltrated and occupied West Burton Power Station this morning. This is the first of a new generation of some 20 gas fired plants that the government are planning on building, and represents a ‘line in the sand’ of climate change and energy policy much in…
29 Oct 2012 Kevin -
A secret military subsidy – pirates and oil corps
New Internationalist featured a blog from Platform on our new briefing A Secret Subsidy: Oil companies, the Navy and the response to piracy. Here’s what we wrote: This week the Combating Piracy Conference has been taking place in London, behind closed doors. This industry-organised event brings together representatives from European Union, NATO and oil and…
26 Oct 2012 emma -
BP partners with Rosneft, Russia’s top polluter – some background
BP confirmed today that it’s swapping its 50% stake in TNK-BP (which provided about a quarter of the company’s global output) for cash and shares in Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled oil company, becoming a nearly 20% shareholder in it as a result. The two companies have been looking for ways to partner up to exploit…
22 Oct 2012 anna -
Revealed: Vince Cable, ‘Minister for Shell’
Documents obtained by Corporate Watch show that Vince Cable has been acting as “Contact Minister for Shell”. In a letter to Vince Cable, dated 19 March 2012, Malcolm Brinded, (who, at the time of writing, was Chief Executive of Shell Upstream International) thanks Vince Cable for attending a Shell strategy presentation; adding that he hopes…
