Hakluyt Watch - Revision history

David: /* In The Back */

2006-07-03T16:00:24Z

In The Back

David at 08:33, 27 June 2006

2006-06-27T08:33:17Z

David at 08:31, 27 June 2006

2006-06-27T08:31:08Z

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Private Eye

No. 1031
29 June - 12 July, 2001

In The Back:

Hakluyt Watch

Who exactly is Michael Maclay, director of Hakluyt, the mysterious
"intelligence agency" exposed by the Sunday Times (17 June) as an employer
of spies in the green and peace movements?

Mr Maclay is an informative chap. He told the Sunday Times: "We don't ever
talk about anything we do. We never go into details about what we may or may
not be doing."

An ignorant observer might imagine that Maclay has an aversion to
journalists. But not so. When he left the foreign office in the mid-1980s he
teamed up with the celebrated team of "mission to explain" journalists at
London Weekend Television under John Birt, later director-general of the
BBC, and Peter Mandelson, later Labour's media specialist and twice-sacked
cabinet minister.

While at London Weekend Maclay helped Mandelson's friend David (now Lord)
Lipsey set up the Sunday Correspondent to rival the Observer. Together with
Mandelson and Lipsey, Maclay was an early member of the British American
Project to encourage members of "the successor generation" -- the best and
the brightest in both countries (see Eyes 929, 954, 960, 963, 1011). Another
former BAP member was Liz (now Baroness) Symons, a star in the Blair
government, and wife of Phil Bassett, Blair's key aide at Number 10.

The fact that Maclay's Hakluyt (bizarrely named after a geographer) sought
and paid for information from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth which
would be useful to its clients in the boardroom of BP will not have come as
a surprise to top BP executive and founding treasurer of the British
American Project, Nick Butler. Butler is well known to Eye readers as one of
"new" Labour's favourite big businessmen. For several years his wife ran the
press office at the Blairite think tank IPPR, whose talkative director
Matthew Taylor is another close friend of Michael Maclay.

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 While at London Weekend Maclay helped Mandelson's friend David (now Lord)
-Lipsey set up the Sunday Correspondent to rival the Observer. Together with
+Lipsey set up the [[Sunday Correspondent]] to rival the Observer. Together with
-Mandelson and Lipsey, Maclay was an early member of the [[British American
+Mandelson and Lipsey, Maclay was an early member of the [[British American Project]] to encourage members of "the successor generation" -- the best and
 the brightest in both countries (see Eyes 929, 954, 960, 963, 1011). Another
-former BAP member was [[Elizabeth symons|Liz (now Baroness) Symons]], a star in the Blair
+former BAP member was [[Elizabeth Symons|Liz (now Baroness) Symons]], a star in the Blair
 government, and wife of [[Phil Bassett]], Blair's key aide at Number 10.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Private Eye
+Private Eye, No. 1031, 29 June - 12 July, 2001
-No. 1031
+==In The Back==
-In The Back:
+Who exactly is [[Michael Maclay]], director of [[Hakluyt]], the mysterious
 "intelligence agency" exposed by the Sunday Times (17 June) as an employer
 of spies in the green and peace movements?
@@ Line 19: / Line 14: @@
 journalists. But not so. When he left the foreign office in the mid-1980s he
 teamed up with the celebrated team of "mission to explain" journalists at
-London Weekend Television under John Birt, later director-general of the
+London Weekend Television under [[John Birt]], later director-general of the
-BBC, and Peter Mandelson, later Labour's media specialist and twice-sacked
+BBC, and [[Peter Mandelson]], later Labour's media specialist and twice-sacked
 cabinet minister.
 While at London Weekend Maclay helped Mandelson's friend David (now Lord)
 Lipsey set up the Sunday Correspondent to rival the Observer. Together with
-Mandelson and Lipsey, Maclay was an early member of the British American
+Mandelson and Lipsey, Maclay was an early member of the [[British American
-Project to encourage members of "the successor generation" -- the best and
+Project]] to encourage members of "the successor generation" -- the best and
 the brightest in both countries (see Eyes 929, 954, 960, 963, 1011). Another
-former BAP member was Liz (now Baroness) Symons, a star in the Blair
+former BAP member was [[Elizabeth symons|Liz (now Baroness) Symons]], a star in the Blair
-government, and wife of Phil Bassett, Blair's key aide at Number 10.
+government, and wife of [[Phil Bassett]], Blair's key aide at Number 10.
 The fact that Maclay's Hakluyt (bizarrely named after a geographer) sought
-and paid for information from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth which
+and paid for information from [[Greenpeace]] and [[Friends of the Earth]] which
-would be useful to its clients in the boardroom of BP will not have come as
+would be useful to its clients in the boardroom of [[BP]] will not have come as
 a surprise to top BP executive and founding treasurer of the British
-American Project, Nick Butler. Butler is well known to Eye readers as one of
+American Project, [[Nick Butler]]. Butler is well known to Eye readers as one of
 "new" Labour's favourite big businessmen. For several years his wife ran the
-press office at the Blairite think tank IPPR, whose talkative director
+press office at the Blairite think tank [[IPPR]], whose talkative director
-Matthew Taylor is another close friend of Michael Maclay.
+[[Matthew Taylor]] is another close friend of Michael Maclay.