BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

2nd/ 3rd July 2014

Tory fundraising
party: Bahrain
lobbyist sat with
defence secretary
Nineteen lobbyists and
public relations specialists
were present at the summer
party including Paddy
Gillford (the Earl of
Clanwilliam), who
represents the government
of Bahrain and who headed
one of the more prominent
tables, hosting defence
secretary Philip Hammond.
The table plan for the event
obtained by the Bureau of
Investigative Journalism
and the Guardian shows
there were four additional
tables hosted by key
members of staff from
lobbying and public
relations companies,
including a rm that
represents Russian
businessmen.
Many other public relations
staff were hosted on other
tables, including a partner
at Bell Pottinger, a
communications and
lobbying rm, which
represents Bahrain's
economic development
board. She was placed on
the same table as justice
secretary Chris Grayling.
Read More
David Cameron faces
calls to publish guest
list for lavish Tory
summer dinner
David Cameron is facing
calls to publish the guest
list of Wednesday's
Conservative summer
fundraising dinner following
revelations that last year's
secretive event attracted
bankers, businessmen and
lobbyists with a combined
wealth of more than 11bn.
"Cameron is trying to buy
his way to power," said Jon
Ashworth, the shadow
Cabinet Ofce minister.
"We will be demanding to
know who is whispering in
his ear at the Hurlingham
Club."
The Tories have refused to
publish the guest list for the
annual dinner, which is the
party's second biggest
fundraising event.
Read More
Tory summer party
2013: setting the
scene
American 19th century
writer Nathaniel Hawthorne
once described Old
Billingsgate market as
a dirty, evil-smelling,
crowded precinct thronging
with rough men and
slatternly women. But 150
years later, the former sh
market has changed
beyond all recognition.
The men and women who
led into the former sh
market on June 24 2013
were impeccably dressed
and smelled, if anything, of
money. This was the
summer Conservative
fundraiser, an event
attended by, among others,
bankers, billionaires and
landed gentry. It was
a strictly private affair no
photographers or press
were allowed into the venue
and security was tight.
Read More
Cameron forced to
explain defence
secretarys encounter
with Bahrain lobbyist
at fundraising party
David Cameron was
asked in parliament today
about revelations
uncovered by the Bureau of
Investigative Journalism
that a representative of the
Bahrain government sat
with Britains defence
secretary at last years
Conservative Summer
party.
Yesterday, the Bureau
revealed that Lord
Clanwilliam whose rm acts
for the government of
Bahrain headed one of the
more prominent tables and
hosted defence
secretary Philip
Hammond at the
Conservative fundraiser last
year.
Read More
Geopolitics, oil and
power in the Persian
Gulf: Then and Now
Understanding history is
crucial for understanding
the present. Especially
whereby our understanding
of the Iran situation is
concerned. To understand
how this situation came
about it is crucial to
understand the history
which shaped it.
Andrew Scott Cooper has
put massive amounts of
time and effort into
understanding the lessons
the past can teach us about
the present. His book The
Oil Kings: How the U.S.,
Iran, and Saudi Arabia
Changes the Balance of
Power in the Middle East is
a very important study
when it comes to our
understanding of past
dealings between the U.S.,
the Shah's Iran and Saudi
Arabia.
Read More