Amil Imran Khan
British journalist and founder of Valent Projects; linked to FCO-funded strategic communications in Syria, Project Alchemy and counter-disinformation work
| Amil Imran Khan
| |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1976 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Journalist; strategic-communications adviser; company director |
| Known for | Founding Valent Projects; FCO-linked Syria communications work; involvement in Project Alchemy |
Amil Imran Khan (born January 1976) is a British former Reuters and BBC journalist and the founder and director of Valent Projects Ltd, a London company that sells tools and advice for detecting and responding to online manipulation. He has described moving from Middle East reporting into advisory work on Syria and, later, into commercial “counter-disinformation.” Reporting by The Grayzone, drawing on leaked contractor files and emails, places him inside British Foreign Office-funded strategic-communications programmes during the Syrian war and, later, in proposals for information operations against critics of British policy on Ukraine.[1][2]
Journalism and early advisory work
Khan worked as a foreign correspondent and documentary film-maker for Reuters and the BBC, focusing on politics, war and economics in Iraq, Sudan and Syria, and on documentaries about violent insurgencies. From around 2013 he moved into advisory roles supporting Syrian opposition activists against the Damascus government. A 2015 House of Lords event profile noted his support for anti-regime groups. He has been a research fellow at The Foreign Policy Centre, a former associate fellow at Chatham House, and has advised UK government departments and Middle East/Africa decision-makers on strategic communications for international conflict. Self-described roles include Senior Communications Advisor at the FCDO (from 2013) and Senior Advisor at the UK Government’s Stabilisation Unit (2015–2020).[1][3]
Incostrat, ARK and Syria
Leaked Incostrat tender documents (reported by The Grayzone) specifically highlight that, as a journalist, Khan “established relationships with, and embedded himself into terrorist organizations in the UK and the Middle East,” gaining “unique insight into their narratives, communication methods, recruitment processes and management of networks.” The same outlet states that he participated in the British Foreign Office’s programme to support the Syrian opposition, working for contractors including ARK and Incostrat (which Grayzone describes as intelligence-adjacent or MI6-run). It characterises his work as providing political and media support to opposition groups, including PR guidance to jihadist formations, and training activists and citizen-journalist networks under FCO-funded contracts. A leaked document places him among personnel with access to groups including Jabhat al-Nusra. These characterisations are the outlet’s, based on the files it says it reviewed.[4][2]
Valent Projects
Khan founded Valent Projects Ltd (company number 08119752). The company was incorporated in 2012 as Breakthrough Communications Ltd and renamed in 2017. It is a London-based digital-communications agency offering tools such as the Ariadne platform for detecting inauthentic networks and classifying narratives. Khan has been a director since incorporation. Kaleem Khan (born August 1984) was appointed director in 2023; Eleanor Khan served as secretary until July 2024. The company received a UK Research and Innovation grant (£62,462 of an £89,231 project cost) for AI-powered narrative extraction to combat misinformation (project 10101274, started 2020). In January 2026 Valent raised £1.1 million (Bayes Entrepreneurship Fund lead, with angel participation). The firm has publicly positioned Ariadne for governments and financial institutions and has claimed deployments against Sudan state-sponsored operations, UK 5G conspiracy networks and market-manipulation attempts. No public FCDO award notices name Valent Projects as a supplier; broader government ties rest on leaked files and self-description.[5][6][3]
Project Alchemy and later information operations
Leaked Project Alchemy files (reported by The Grayzone) list Khan as a participant in the information-operations team. Dominic Morris of Elders Services wrote to the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine describing him as a “StratComms Ninja” and “the best in the business,” noting that he “has been working against this adversary for years.” He is listed as a leader of Alchemy’s “Info Ops” component and was proposed for assignment in connection with the 77th Brigade. Subsequent leaks show him corresponding with Paul Mason and proposing a “full nuclear legal” attack to “squeeze [The Grayzone] financially” together with a “clever John Oliver style stunt.” He offered to host a meeting at Valent’s London offices that would include Emma Briant, Chloe Hadjimatheou and (by proxy) Bellingcat, and contacted a contact at the National Security Council’s Communications Directorate. Further 2024–2026 Grayzone reporting describes him as a “disinformation expert” involved in plotting against the outlet, with references to GCHQ and the National Cyber Security Centre in the wider context of the leaks. He was also proposed as one of three directors of the EXPOSE Network (alongside Chris Donnelly and Louis Brooke).[2][7][8]
Other work and controversies
Valent Projects analysed tweets on a pro-Sudanese Armed Forces hashtag, identifying bot/troll activity (only 10% authentic accounts according to a Tahrir Institute report). The Grayzone claimed the firm petitioned social media platforms to delete critical accounts in a context linked to a Chemonics/USAID-supported project. Khan has also been linked in Grayzone reporting to an earlier Valent project involving a YouTube influencer in relation to UK pandemic policy. He worked as a Behavioural Communications Expert for Aktis Strategy in 2017. All characterisations of intelligence links or covert activity remain those of the reporting outlets based on the leaked material they cite; no public government confirmation of specific contracts has been published.[2]
See also
External links
- Foreign Policy Centre author page
- Companies House – Valent Projects Ltd
- Grayzone, November 2024
- Grayzone, June 2022
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Amil Khan, author page The Foreign Policy Centre, accessed 10 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Grayzone, Leaked files expose high-level UK military plot to destroy The Grayzone The Grayzone, 20 November 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bae HQ, Amil Khan Bae HQ, 15 January 2026.
- ↑ The Grayzone, Propagandist for Syria terror proxies compromised Amnesty International, leaked docs show The Grayzone, 8 February 2022.
- ↑ Companies House, Valent Projects Ltd (08119752), accessed 10 October 2026.
- ↑ UKRI Gateway to Research, project 10101274.
- ↑ The Grayzone, Leaks expose secret British military cell plotting to ‘keep Ukraine fighting’ The Grayzone, 16 November 2024.
- ↑ The Grayzone, Paul Mason’s covert intelligence-linked plot to destroy The Grayzone exposed The Grayzone, 7 June 2022.