Libya – Details of Bashagha’s failed bid to gain recognition from London
A report by the Sunday Times has revealed the details of a failed attempt by the Head of Government appointed by the Tobruk parliament in Libya, Fathi Bashagha, to legalize his position in the UK.
According to the report, Mark Fullbrook, a veteran lobbyist, was paid by the pressure company Fullbrook Strategies to launch a foreign campaign on behalf of Bashagha, targeting ministers, Downing Street officials and diplomats.
Fullbrook brought Pashaga to London for two days in June, when his client introduced Nadhim Zahawi, an old friend who later led his leadership campaign, and Kwasi Kwarteng, who hosted the meeting in his parliamentary office.
The following is the text of the report:
Downing Street chief of staff has lobbied ministers including Liz Truss over a politician who falsely claimed to be the ‘legitimate prime minister’ of Libya, as part of a paid campaign to change the UK’s foreign policy.
“Mark Fullbrook, who previously ran his own lobbying firm, spent this spring pressing the government to break with the official position of the United Nations and the United States and recognize the authority of Fathi Bashagha, who led a failed military attempt to take Tripoli this year.”
In June, Fullbrook arranged a visit to London to Pasaga that was not approved by the Prime Minister’s Office or the Foreign Office. This led to the intervention of the British ambassador, who said that the Libyan was not a guest of the British government. Fullbrook also contacted the government while the Bashagha plane was in a waiting pattern over London airport amid unspecified paper problems.
During the flight; Fullbrook arranged a meeting and photo for Bashagha with two ministers, Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Quarting, despite Britain’s stated foreign policy of not recognizing parallel governments in Libya, and Quarting did not report the event through his ministry, as required by ministerial law. Zahawi said his department knew but declined to say whether he had reported it in the normal way.
Fullbrook, who is 60; He also pressured Tras, then foreign minister, and Priti Patel, then interior minister, to inform the ministers that his client could be granted access to oil fields and stop the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for recognition, but neither appeared to have responded to his appeals.
Last night; After being contacted by the Sunday Times, Fullbrook said that he has distanced himself from all foreign and security policy decisions affecting the country. “Fullbrook has not and will not participate in government decisions concerning Libya,” his spokesman said.
According to government sources; There is no recent precedent for Downing Street’s chief aid worker to withdraw from the foreign policy area or a bilateral relationship of geopolitical importance. Boris Johnson’s chief aide, Dan Rosenfeld, was closely involved in the withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan, and Dan Rosenfield’s predecessor, Dominic Cummings, was similarly involved in foreign policy and intelligence.
A decade after the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi; “Libya remains divided between the Tripoli government of national unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, which was established last year through a UN-led operation, and a rival government led by Bashagha, in Tobruk 1,400 km away.”
Bashagha, 60, recently led the team; “of militia groups, in a failed attempt to storm Tripoli, backed by General Khalifa Haftar, the tribal warlord who fought with the Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary force dubbed Putin’s private army.”
Britain has refused to recognize Bashagha, recently imposed sanctions on the commander of the Russian Wagner group accused of supporting Haftar’s forces, and the UK embassy in Libya – which reopened in Tripoli last June – has repeatedly stated that it does not support the establishment of parallel governments or institutions.
Fullbrook is a veteran lobbyist who worked with Margaret Thatcher and John Major at Conservative Party headquarters and ran Johnson’s 2019 leadership campaign.
Between April and June; paid by the lobbyist Fullbrook Strategy to launch a foreign campaign on Bashagha’s behalf, targeting ministers, Downing Street officials and diplomats.
Fullbrook brought Bashagha to London for two days in June, when his client introduced Zahawi, an old friend who later ran his leadership campaign, and Kwarteng, who hosted the gathering at his parliamentary office.
Zahawi, 55, was Minister of Education, and Quarting, 47, was Minister of Business, according to the Ministerial Law; Ministers must be joined by a special secretary or an official in all discussions of government business and any meetings must be announced. It is unclear whether ministers reported the visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or briefed civil servants before or after the meeting.
The event gave a legitimate appearance to Bashagha, who shared the photo with Libyan news channels and stated that he discussed “strengthening relations between our two countries.” Bashagha said he also discussed the “road map for recovery”; His plan for international recognition includes granting Britain access to Libya’s oil fields and helping prevent migrants from crossing to Europe.
Fullbrook described Bashagha to the ministers as being pressured as the country’s “legitimate prime minister” and offered help on energy, security, and immigration, among those contacted by Truss, Patel, and John Pew, who was then Downing Street’s defense and foreign policy adviser.
He co-arranged Libi’s meeting with Defense Select Committee Chairman Tobias Ellwood, who stood with him carrying a brochure detailing the “road map to recovery”. Ellwood said he met Bashagha in his personal capacity.
He co-arranged Libi’s meeting with Defense Select Committee Chairman Tobias Ellwood, who stood with him carrying a brochure detailing the “road map to recovery”. Ellwood said he met Bashagha in his personal capacity.
“According to the Office of the Registrar of Pressure Advisory Groups, the pressure-monitoring body set up under David Cameron’s leadership, Fullbrook announced that he had lobbied ministers on behalf of the Libyan House of Representatives between April and June.”
“The House of Representatives – a legislative assembly legitimized by a vote in 2014 in which turnout was said to be less than 18 percent – was previously allied with Tripoli before Bashagha’s support last year.” “According to the Carnegie Endowment, a think tank in Washington, this support has waned and some room members have questioned its appropriateness since its failed attack on Tripoli.”
In his contacts with ministers; Fullbrook said he was advising Bashagha personally and there was no evidence that he acted on behalf of the room as a whole, but he declined to provide details when asked.
For now; Despite his appointment as Chief of Staff, Fullbrook became bound by the Code of Conduct for the Special Adviser, whose violations are investigated by the civil service. “These matters relate to Fullbrook’s engagements long before his participation in any government role,” said his spokesman. “Fullbrook Strategies complied with all legal obligations and managed everything in an open and transparent manner. The Government was fully aware of all the professional obligations of Fullbrook Stratize and Fullbrook prior to the appointment of Fullbrook as Chief of Staff.”
Truss has not appointed an independent ethics adviser, which leads to the absence of an official who can advise her on whether Kwarteng or Zahawi violated ministerial law.
For his part; Former Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary and senior official said; Lord McDonald of Salford said Government ministers needed to make sure that their actions would not harm or undermine the Government’s foreign policy.
“It’s up to them to make sure they’re getting a good faith call from the government. It will not be forgotten that Priti Patel lost her function as Minister of Development because of her unannounced meetings with the Prime Minister of Israel, which is not problematic, but the manner in which she did so was the problem. “The matter echoed in the cabinet ministers’ meeting with this Libyan figure and the failure to reveal the meeting.”
The details of Fullbrook’s pressure in Libya come after the Sunday Times revealed that he was involved in an alleged plot to subvert democracy in the US-run province of Puerto Rico. The FBI interviewed Fullbrook, he says as a witness, and since then he has cooperated with federal authorities, who recently charged his former client, a Venezuelan banker.
He also revealed that Fullbrook – along with two of his colleagues – had been seconded to the government from his lobbying company rather than directly employed by the prime minister’s office, which raised questions about transparency and conflicts of interest and prompted a radical change of government, placing Fullbrook in the position of regular special adviser.
When Fullbrook Strategies launched in April, it capitalized on the depth of Fullbrook’s conservative policy experience. Its website said that Johnson had “personally asked him to manage” his 2019 leadership campaign, which led to Boris becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Fullbrook Strategies had halted business activities.
later; Fullbrook founded Parliamentary Communications Services Ltd, which provides public relations advice to Conservative MPs, and worked with Sir Lynton Crosby, an election expert known for advising center-right politicians around the world, including Johnson. through its different roles; Fullbrook helped select dozens of Conservative Party MPs and has a network within the party that insiders say is unprecedented. during the summer; He initially led the Zahawi campaign, before his loyalty was transferred to Penny Mordaunt and then to Truss.
A government source said that the Ministry of Business did not arrange or facilitate Kwarteng’s meeting with Bashagha, and therefore did not record or declare this in the transparency reports.
“Zahawi met Bashagha at the Kwasi Kwarteng Parliamentary Office as a person of long-standing interest in foreign affairs in the Middle East, especially given the suffering of his family under Saddam Hussein. The Ministry of Education learnt that there was nothing hidden and there was no discussion of any oilfields at all,” and Britain was involved in the NATO-led coalition that helped overthrow Gaddafi.
