UPDATED 6 Sept 2025
When oil, espionage, and institutional sanctity collide, you get more than corporate intrigue—you get disaster dressed as business. This isn’t a Bond novel. This is Shell—deploying spies, dodging accountability, and leaving death and pollution in its wake. And Amnesty International reminds us: Shell can divest, but it can’t wash away its crimes.
1.
The Church, the Fax, and Hakluyt’s Grip
In 2004, a letter Shell critic Alfred Donovan faxed to Hakluyt & Company co-founder Christopher James (a private intelligence firm founded by MI6 veterans) mysteriously turned up on the desk of a surprised lawyer at the Church of England’s Legal Office.
Donovan fumed:
“the tentacles of an evil and shadowy organisation, Hakluyt, reach right into the very heart of the British establishment, the Church of England.”
The fax was found by a Church of England lawyer Mike Webster.
It was meant to be delivered to Sir Anthony Hammond KCB QC who astonishingly was simultaneously the top legal advisor to the Church of England AND the spy firm Hakluyt. Shell directors Sir William Purves and Sir Peter Holmes were also senior directors of Hakluyt.
These titled gentleman were not the only players serving two masters in this murky tale.
Shell Global Head of Security Ian Forbes McCredie didn’t just work for Shell — he also sat on Hakluyt’s board, blurring the line between intelligence-gathering and corporate oil-spin like a master illusionist in a gas mask. When John Donovan sent an email to McCredie at Shell he received an automated response from McCredie’s email address at Hakluyt.
The Donovan fax eventually reached the UK Intelligence and Security Committee, underscoring how Shell’s web of influence reached into Britain’s most trusted institutions.
2.
Hakluyt: Corporate Spies on Salary
Hakluyt’s founders called it “doing for industry what we had done for the government.” Serving Shell and BP, it infiltrated Greenpeace and surveilled critics (CorpWatch, Powerbase).
Alfred’s son John Donovan, publisher of royaldutchshellplc.com, has long claimed that Shell’s espionage extended beyond Hakluyt. He has reason to believe that Shell spied on Greenpeace more recently.
3.
Nigeria: Shell’s Deadly Legacy
The Ogoni 9, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, were executed in 1995 after a sham trial. Shell was accused of complicity with Nigeria’s military regime, enabling the suppression of activists (The Guardian). Lawsuits in Europe and the US continue to pursue Shell for human rights abuses.
Even now, Shell’s divestment from Nigerian operations doesn’t absolve it. Amnesty International insists Shell “remains responsible for cleaning up affected areas and compensating local communities for the decades of harm” (Amnesty).
In places like Bodo, despite Shell’s £55 million payout for 2008–09 oil spills, clean-up remains disastrous (Amnesty).
4.
Negligence at Home: North Sea Horror Stories
In the North Sea, Shell fostered a “Touch Fuck All” safety culture that left offshore workers to die in preventable tragedies. Investigations revealed unseaworthy lifeboats and systemic negligence (BBC).
5.
2004 Shareholder Fraud
Shell admitted to inflating its proven reserves by 20%, erasing billions in shareholder value and earning a $120 million SEC fine (Reuters). Shell Chairman Sir Phillip Watts was forced to resign in disgrace.
6.
Donovan vs. Shell: Truth as Weapon
Through royaldutchshellplc.com, John Donovan has catalogued Shell’s sins for decades. Shell never sued—because discovery might reveal truths too damning to survive cross-examination.
7.
Justice Skewed
In litigation with the Donovans, the High Court judge who heard the case failed to disclose links to Shell, ignored misconduct by Shell’s legal team (including undercover agents), resigned in mysterious circumstances, and then reappeared in Shell-linked ventures (multiple sources).
8.
Investors: Still Cashing In
Despite this history—murder in Nigeria, fraud on Wall Street, and espionage against activists—investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street keep Shell in their portfolios. Dividends wash away sin.
💀
Verdict
The Ogoni 9 are dead, the Niger Delta poisoned, and Greenpeace surveilled. A misdelivered fax revealed Hakluyt’s grip on Britain’s establishment, and the Church found itself drawn into the oily shadows.
This isn’t SPECTRE. It’s Shell. And the horror is real.
P.S. It Gets Better
Just when you thought Shell’s pet spy firm Hakluyt couldn’t get any slicker, along comes academia to sprinkle a little Ivy League gloss. Enter Harvard Business School professor Joseph Fuller, who authored a glowing case study on Hakluyt — and then, in a plot twist worthy of satire, quietly joined its board in August 2025.
Finance professors moonlighting as corporate spies? Nothing says “ethical advisory” like teaching a puff piece in the classroom before cashing the cheque.
Read it yourself:
Harvard Professor Joseph Fuller joins Hakluyt’s board of directors
LONDON, Aug. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Hakluyt, the global strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors, is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Joseph Fuller, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, to our board of directors.
Professor Fuller is a distinguished academic and leader in the field of workforce strategy and organisational innovation. He currently serves as Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, where he co-founded and co-leads the school’s Managing the Future of Work project, and Harvard’s Project on the Workforce. Previously, he co-founded the Monitor Group – now Deloitte Monitor – and led its consulting operations until 2006. He also sits on the boards of Aera Technology and Helios Consulting, and is chair of the board of trustees at Western Governors University.
Chair of the board Lord Paul Deighton KBE said: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Fuller to the Hakluyt board, and we are all very much looking forward to working with him. His deep expertise in leadership development, global governance and organisational transformation will be invaluable as we continue to support Hakluyt’s success and growth. His outstanding track record – as a scholar, entrepreneur and board member, aligns perfectly with Hakluyt’s work helping business leaders navigate uncertainty with clarity and insight.”
Professor Fuller said: “I am honoured to join Hakluyt’s board, and look forward to supporting the company in its mission of guiding clients through complex strategic challenges. I am looking forward to drawing on my experience as both a business leader and an academic at Harvard Business School in supporting this exceptional business in the next phase of its very impressive development.”
Managing partner Thomas Ellis added: “It is a privilege to welcome Joe to our board. His unique perspectives and deep experience will be of tremendous value to Hakluyt and our clients, and I am very excited to be working alongside him.”
SOURCE Hakluyt
Graphic credit: royaldutchshellplc.com aided by AI
Warning: satire ahead. The criticisms are pointed, the humour intentional, and the facts stubbornly real. Any quotes are reproduced word-for-word from trusted sources. As for authorship—John Donovan and AI both claim credit, but the jury’s still out on who was really in charge.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
