Thomson Reuters Foundation
Charitable arm of Thomson Reuters; CSSF contractor
| Thomson Reuters Foundation
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Registered at Companies House |
| Founded | 4 August 2000 (incorporated) |
| Registration ID | Companies House 04047905 |
| Status | Active |
| Location | Five Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom, E14 5AQ |
Thomson Reuters Foundation (Thomson Reuters Foundation, Companies House number 04047905) is a contractor to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Companies House records it as incorporated on 4 August 2000, status "Active", nature of business "74990 - Non-trading company", with registered office at Five Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom, E14 5AQ.[1][2] It is a named supplier on Lot 1 of the CSSF Framework Agreement 2023–27.[3] FCO and FCDO payments to it over £25,000 recorded in published departmental spending data total about £791,578; these figures cover all FCO/FCDO (and, after September 2020, former Department for International Development) programmes and are not limited to the CSSF.[4]
Overview
The framework supplier is recorded as "Thomson Reuters Foundation Group (DBA Reuters Foundation Consultants Limited)". Reuters Foundation Consultants Limited (03740741) is a separate company at the same Canary Wharf address.[5]
CSSF and other UK government work
Documents published by Anonymous in 2021 include an FCO letter dated 30 May 2019, signed by a CSSF commercial adviser. The letter told Thomson Reuters Foundation Group that its tender for Enhancing Journalistic Standards in Russia through Themed Press Tours (contract CPG/3266/2019, ITT 2949) had been ranked first of two bids.[6] The Grayzone, a critical source, reported on these files in February 2021. It said they showed the foundation and BBC Media Action in programmes of the FCO's Counter Disinformation and Media Development (CDMD) unit aimed at countering Russia. It also said a 2017 TRF tender for "Capacity Building in Russian Media" through the British Embassy Moscow described being "in constant communication with the British Embassy in Moscow, to assess levels of risk, including reputational risk to the embassy".[7]
Controversies and criticism
Responding to The Grayzone, TRF spokesperson Jenny Vereker said: "The inference that the Thomson Reuters Foundation was engaged in 'secret activities' is inaccurate and misrepresents our work in the public interest. We have for decades openly supported a free press and have worked to help journalists globally to develop the skills needed to report with independence." She said the funding "supports our independent work to assist journalists and journalism all over the world".[7]
FCO/FCDO payments
| Year | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 247,768 |
| 2013 | 206,294 |
| 2017 | 209,127 |
| 2023 | 56,382 |
| 2024 | 72,007 |
| Total | 791,578 |
People
| Name | Role | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Yee Man Chan | Secretary | 11 November 2025 |
| Michael Keith Eastwood | Director | 15 May 2026 |
| Mary Katherine Friedrich | Director | 15 May 2026 |
| Eileen Lynch-Sussan | Director | 5 December 2011 |
| Margaret Mendi Njonjo | Director | 1 January 2021 |
| Brian Peccarelli | Director | 12 November 2018 |
| Ragunath Ramanathan | Director | 1 January 2025 |
| Vivian Luisa Schiller | Director | 1 January 2021 |
| Mary Alice Vuicic | Director | 1 January 2021 |
| Vedat Can Yeginsu | Director | 1 November 2025 |
See also
- Conflict, Stability and Security Fund
- Category:CSSF Contractors
- Counter Disinformation and Media Development
- BBC Media Action
- Aktis Strategy
Notes
- ↑ Companies House, Thomson Reuters Foundation (04047905) Companies House, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Companies House, Thomson Reuters Foundation (04047905): officers Companies House, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Framework Agreement (2023-2027): contract award notice 029743-2023 Find a Tender Service, 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO departmental spending over £25,000 GOV.UK, 2010–2020; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO: departmental spending over £25,000 GOV.UK, 2020–2026.
- ↑ Companies House, Reuters Foundation Consultants Limited (03740741) Companies House, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign and Commonwealth Office (document published by the hacker group Anonymous), Notice of Contract Award Decision: CPG/3266/2019 Enhancing Journalistic Standards in Russia through Themed Press Tours avalonlibrary.net, 30 May 2019.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone, Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to "weaken Russia," leaked docs reveal The Grayzone, 20 February 2021.