Atlantic Bridge

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The Atlantic Bridge was a conservative atlanticist organisation in the United Kingdom.

Foundation

Atlantic Bridge was founded in 1997 by Liam Fox according to a job advertisement placed in 2009.[1] It was registered as a UK charity on 3 February 2003.[2]

Charitable objects

According to the Charity Commission, Atlantic Bridge's Charitable objects were as follows:

SUCH OBJECTS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD ARE EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. THE FURTHERANCE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC, IN AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST, FOCUSING, PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY ON FREE TRADE, ECONOMICS, HEALTH AND SCIENCE. RESEARCH INTO RELATIONS BETWEEN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, WITH THE AIM TO RAISE CULTURAL AWARENESS AND IMPROVE LINKS.[3]

Objectives

  • To establish, and then develop rapidly, a strong, well-positioned, network of like-minded conservatives in politics, business, journalism and academe on both sides of the Atlantic.
  • To develop new and relevant policy ideas, building on the common thinking which underpins the natural trans-Atlantic alliance between the UK and the USA;
  • To publicise widely such policy initiatives and stimulate discussion of how best to develop them further.
  • To establish a small board of advisers whose role would be to help oversee the expansion of the group. This expansion is a vital step in building the network that is essential to the overall aims of the group. The focus point of the group will be an ongoing series of bi-annual speaker dinners to be held in London and cities across the United States. These dinners will have three aims. Firstly, to allow potential members to get a better understanding about who we are and what the group does. Secondly, to discuss policy issues and disseminate information. Thirdly, to ensure that the network is in regular active contact and to prevent it from becoming stale.[4]

Thatcher Speech

Lady Thatcher called on the Atlantic Bridge to become a bulwark against the left in a speech to the organisation on 14 May 2003:

This Atlantic Bridge must connect the brightest minds, the soundest ideas, and the boldest young leaders of the future. It should serve at once as a memorial to our heritage, as an investment in our prospects, and as a bulwark against the good - and not so good - people on the Left, who always turn out to have such very bad ideas.[5]

Charity Commission case

The Guardian reported in October 2009 that the Charity Commission had launched an investigation into Atlantic Bridge the previous August. The paper cited the following statment:

"A regulatory compliance case was opened on 21 August 2009 to investigate concerns relating to activities of the Atlantic Bridge Education and Research Scheme (registered charity number 1099513) and its connections to the Conservative party. We are engaging with the charity to address these concerns."[6]

Blogger Stephen Newton said the case followed a complaint he had made to the Commission.[7]

The Charity Commission stated in July 2010:

The Commission concluded that, although Atlantic Bridge is a charity with exclusively charitable purposes and is capable of operating for the public benefit, its educational objects have not been advanced by its activities because of the way in which it has promoted the ‘Special Relationship’ between the US and the UK. The promotion of the Special Relationship is not the purpose of the charity and nor can it be. Although it is legitimate for a charity to study, research or educate the public about the ‘Special Relationship’, it is not permissible for a charity to promote a particular pre-determined point of view.
The Commission also concluded that the charity’s activities may lead members of the public to call into question its independence from party politics. The Commission has made clear to the trustees their legal and regulatory responsibilities and that the way that Atlantic Bridge currently carries out its activities must cease immediately.[8]

As a result of the Commission’s intervention, the trustees committed to undertake a wide-ranging governance review over the following year and report back to the Commission within two months of its completion.[9]

Dissolution

Atlantic Bridge was removed from the Register of Charities as having ceased to exist on 20 September 2011.[10]

The Charity Commission subsequently said Atlantic Bridge funds had been used for non-charitable purposes, but declined to seek recovery from the trustees.[11]

Funding

People

  • Gabrielle Bertin - former equity trader at BNP Paribas who worked as a researcher for Liam Fox on the Atlantic Bridge project, funded by Pfizer. She also does occasional work for Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein.
  • Cara Walker

2005

Directors

Board of Advisors

Dr. Liam Fox M.P.| Clark S Judge | Eleanor Laing MP | John Whittingdale OBE MP | Boris Johnson MP | Michael Teden Esq.,OBE | Grace-Marie Turner | The Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG QC | The Right Honourable Lord Tebbit | Patrick Minford | Daniel Rosenberg | The Lord Astor of Hever DL.[15]

2007

Executive Board

Liam Fox | Scott D. Syfert - lawyer with Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein | John Falk | Ross Bevevino | Adam Werritty

2008

Honorary Patron

Board of Trustees

Dr Liam Fox MP – Chairman | Eleanor Laing MP – Vice Chairman | The Lord Astor of Hever DL | Ross Bevevino | Amanda Bowman | Andrew Dunlop | Craig Earnshaw | John Falk | Alan Guarino | Nicholas Howard | Professor Robert MacLaren | Professor Patrick Minford | John Whittingdale OBE MP[17]

Advisory Council

Staff Members

Affiliations

External Resources

News Articles

Contact

Notes

  1. ↑ job details, ww4mp.org, 15 May 2009.
  2. ↑ RegisteredCharityNumber=1099513&SubsidiaryNumber=0 1099513 - THE ATLANTIC BRIDGE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SCHEME REMOVED CHARITY, Charity Commission, accessed 14 October 2011.
  3. ↑ RegisteredCharityNumber=1099513&SubsidiaryNumber=0 1099513 - THE ATLANTIC BRIDGE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SCHEME REMOVED CHARITY, Charity Commission, accessed 14 October 2011.
  4. ↑ For this information see their website at http://www.theatlanticbridge.com
  5. ↑ Margaret Thatcher, Speech to the Atlantic Bridge, Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 14 May 2003.
  6. ↑ Hélène Mulholland, Charity Commission investigates organisation's links to Tory party, guardian.co.uk, 2 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Stephen Newton, The Atlantic Bridge: Think Tank or sham? Top Tories face Charity Commission investigation, Stephen Newton's diary of sorts..., 2 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Charity Commission publishes report on investigation into Atlantic Bridge, Charity Commission, 26 July 2010.
  9. ↑ Charity Commission publishes report on investigation into Atlantic Bridge, Charity Commission, 26 July 2010.
  10. ↑ RegisteredCharityNumber=1099513&SubsidiaryNumber=0 1099513 - THE ATLANTIC BRIDGE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SCHEME REMOVED CHARITY, Charity Commission, accessed 14 October 2011.
  11. ↑ Tania Mason, Charity Commission denies political motivation in Atlantic Bridge case, Governance, 6 July 2012.
  12. ↑ Rupert Neate, Liam Fox took five MPs to Washington with donor's money, guardian.co.uk, 13 October 2011.
  13. ↑ Abstraction Fund, Form 990 2010.
  14. ↑ People, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive, 12 February 2005, accessed 15 October 2011.
  15. ↑ People, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive, 12 February 2005, accessed 15 October 2011.
  16. ↑ Who We are, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive on 15 April 2008, accessed 17 October 2011.
  17. ↑ Who We are, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive on 15 April 2008, accessed 17 October 2011.
  18. ↑ Who We are, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive on 15 April 2008, accessed 17 October 2011.
  19. ↑ Who We are, Atlantic Bridge, archived at the Internet Archive on 15 April 2008, accessed 17 October 2011.
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