A British trade minister met with a secretive intelligence firm last year, to discuss the government’s efforts to secure essential supplies such as PPE and medical equipment.
openDemocracy can reveal that the minister for investment, Lord Grimstone, met with Hakluyt & Company Ltd last November. No minutes were taken of the meeting between Grimstone and the firm, which is known as a “retirement home for ex-MI6 officers” and is chaired by the government’s PPE ‘tsar’, Lord Deighton.
The Department for International Trade has refused to confirm which Hakluyt representatives attended. But internal documents seen by openDemocracy show that a government operation called Project DEFEND was discussed at the meeting.
