Hakluyt, the London-founded corporate intelligence consultancy with a reputation for attracting former MI6 operatives, has announced the opening of its new North American headquarters in New York.
For those unfamiliar:
Hakluyt was co-founded in the mid-1990s by former MI6 officers.
Its early private-sector patrons included senior executives at Royal Dutch Shell.
It has been widely described in media and governance circles as the “commercial arm of MI6.”
To Shell critics, none of this is surprising.read more
John Donovan’s revealing entire chat with Microsoft Copilot about Shell Ethics on 29 Oct 2025. Nothing has been deleted. John Donovan’s questions and instructions are in red text.
Using deep research tell me all you can about the Shell critic John Donovan
John Donovan is a long-standing and relentless critic of Royal Dutch Shell, known for exposing internal misconduct and legal battles with the oil giant. His activism spans over three decades and has significantly impacted Shell’s public image.
Here’s a comprehensive look at his background, motivations, and influence:
🧑💼 Who Is John Donovan?
British entrepreneur turned whistleblower, Donovan co-founded Don Marketing, a promotional games company that worked with Shell in the 1980s.
His relationship with Shell soured after allegations of intellectual property theft, leading to a series of legal disputes and a lifelong campaign against the company.
🔥 The Feud with Shell
Donovan claims Shell repeatedly stole promotional game ideas developed by his company, including the popular “Make Money” game.
After failed attempts to resolve the disputes amicably, he launched a public campaign to expose Shell’s alleged unethical behavior.
His feud escalated into a 30-year battle, described by some as a “David vs. Goliath” saga.
🌐 Online Campaigns and Websites
Donovan operates a network of websites dedicated to Shell criticism, including:
These platforms host over 25,000 articles, leaked documents, and insider reports from Shell employees (“moles”).
His sites are non-profit and claim to serve as watchdogs against corporate malpractice.
📚 Publications and Media Coverage
Donovan authored a Kindle book titled John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare: My Epic Feud with the Unscrupulous Oil Giant Royal Dutch Shell, detailing his battles and Shell’s alleged misconduct.
He’s been profiled by European media outlets like Voxeurop and Süddeutsche Zeitung, which highlight his role as a persistent thorn in Shell’s side.
🕵️♂️ Methods and Impact
Donovan’s work is fueled by anonymous tips and leaked documents from Shell insiders.
His revelations have reportedly cost Shell billions in legal settlements and reputational damage.
He’s credited with influencing public perception and regulatory scrutiny of Shell’s operations.
🧭 Legacy and Influence
Donovan is considered one of the most effective one-man corporate watchdogs in modern history.
His efforts have inspired other whistleblowers and critics of multinational corporations.
Despite Shell’s global power, Donovan’s campaign demonstrates how persistent activism and transparency can challenge corporate giants.
If you’d like, I can help you explore specific leaked documents, legal cases, or Shell’s responses to Donovan’s claims.read more
Shell and Apartheid: A Documentary History of Support, Complicity, and Counter-Campaigns (1950s–1994)
By John Donovan: Published: 24 October 2025
Preface
This is not a story that begins with a single memo or ends with a press release. It is an institutional record spanning decades, continents, and boardrooms. It features a company that says it “opposed apartheid,” yet repeatedly chose the path that kept South Africa’s apartheid economy running: investing, supplying, lobbying, and—when public pressure spiked—deploying an elaborate influence operation to neutralise critics. That company is Shell.read more
In the oil-stained annals of corporate history, few duels have burned as long — or as publicly — as that between Royal Dutch Shell and a retired British marketing man named John Donovan.
What began in the 1990s as a routine commercial dispute between Shell and Donovan’s family business, Don Marketing, would metastasize into one of the most sustained reputational headaches any multinational has ever faced.
Three decades later, Donovan’s website — RoyalDutchShellPLC.com — functions like a digital conscience for a company trying to forget its own. It is a trove of Shell’s internal embarrassments: whistleblower leaks, courtroom revelations, safety scandals, and corporate PR hypocrisy, preserved with forensic precision.read more
How one man’s persistence exposed decades of corporate deceit — and forced an oil giant to live with its reflection.
Part 1: The Origins of a Corporate Nemesis
“There are two types of corporations: those that fear whistleblowers and those that wish they’d hired one.” — Industry proverb
In the late 1980s, John Donovan was not yet a thorn in Shell’s side. He was one of its trusted collaborators — a marketing innovator whose company, Don Marketing, created hugely successful sales promotions for Shell in the UK and around the globe.
But what began as a partnership ended in betrayal. A bitter dispute over intellectual property, allegedly stolen concepts, and corporate bullying gave birth to a feud that would last decades.read more
If you thought Shell’s sins stopped at oil spills and carbon doublespeak, think again. Enter Hakluyt & Co., the boutique spook shop founded by ex-MI6 officers. This article is about Neil Heywood — a British businessman linked with Hakluyt who died in China under circumstances straight out of a John le Carré plot. WTF indeed.
The Shell–Hakluyt Bromance
Hakluyt doesn’t advertise on billboards. Its pitch is whispered in club lounges: discreet intelligence, political access, and bespoke “market insights.” Critics — most loudly John Donovan — have long accused Shell of being one of Hakluyt’s favourite corporate playmates. When Shell wants “strategic friends,” it doesn’t call McKinsey; it calls the ghosts of MI6.
The connection has been documented in detail for years. In fact, Donovan asked Shell’s General Counsel point-blank if Neil Heywood, via Hakluyt, had been working on Shell’s interests in China. Shell’s reply? Silence. And that silence still echoes louder than a Shell ad campaign. (source)read more
“I am deeply concerned to discover that the tentacles of an evil and shadowy private spy firm, Hakluyt & Company Limited, reach right into the very heart of the British establishment, the Church of England… Hakluyt’s stock in trade is deception, trickery, betrayal, fabrication, fraud and infiltration by its undercover agents.”
From Mayfair backrooms to No.10, the Oval Office and even the pews.
If you’ve ever wondered who whispers sweet nothings about “risk” and “stakeholders” into the ears of governments while oil money hums in the background, meet Hakluyt—the discreet fixer founded by ex-MI6 officers, beloved by Shell and , and forever allergic to sunlight. The firm’s recent cameo in the Thames Water crisis wasn’t subtle: “A corporate intelligence company part-owned and formerly run by the prime minister’s business adviser has been paid more than £1m by Thames Water,” the Guardian reported, adding that Hakluyt “claims to have advised almost half of the FTSE 100 and more than three-quarters of the top 20 private equity groups.” And its spokespeople? “We are not a lobbying organisation and do not lobby governments on behalf of clients.”read more
They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. Hakluyt is what happens when you build a shadow empire and pray no one turns on the lights. Born from ex-MI6 operatives, this private intelligence outfit has become Shell’s’ go-to for gathering intel, and keeping critics on a leash. Its tentacles have reached into 10 Downing Street, the White House, and even the Church of England.
What Is Hakluyt, Really?
Founded 1995 by Christopher James and Mike Reynolds. Known to hire former spies, journalists, insiders.
Shell’s relationship with Hakluyt is not “incidental advisory.” Internal sources and whistleblowers (Alfred and John Donovan) collected evidence that Shell directors such as Sir William Purves and Sir Peter Holmes held senior roles in Hakluyt.read more
Shell—the ultimate sin stock with a moral compass that spins like a loose bearing—has a new headline act: a fresh lawsuit claiming its Houston corporate security team purged white staff and parachuted in “weaker” replacements under the banner of DEI. Add it to a long, messy rap sheet of security-side controversies featuring Crockett Oaks III, Michael G. Oliveri, Walied Shater, and Shell’s own global security boss of yesteryear, James W.D. Hall. Investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, and Norges Bank keep cashing the dividends while the spook show rumbles on.read more
Shell’s Investors: The Puppet-Masters of Pollution
Before we dive into the carnage, let’s talk ownership. Shell isn’t run by wild-haired cowboys—it’s chaired by mega institutional shareholders puffing on the dividends. BlackRock, in particular, wields its muscle—owning around 4% of the company according to Shell’s own disclosures. Vanguard isn’t far behind with around 3%. So while you’re outraged at Shell, don’t sleep on the financial vultures pulling the strings.
1. South African Slap in the Face: Courts Smack Down Shell & Total
Shell’s grand plans for environmental devastation off South Africa’s coast have hit a wall. The Western Cape High Court just set aside TotalEnergies’ offshore drilling permit—Shell was supposed to swoop in and take over operations—but nope. Judge Mangcu-Lockwood said, in effect, “You forgot to study the actual impacts. Try again”—spelling out flaws in risk assessments, community engagement, and disaster planning.read more
Let’s get this straight: Shell—the oil Goliath with a BlackRock thumbprint, a penchant for espionage, and an endless appetite for green devastation—is not just a fossil fuel baron, it’s a masterclass in corporate ethical bankruptcy.
1. Spying on the Good Guys: Hakluyt, MI6—and Yourself
Brace yourself. Shell quietly engaged Hakluyt & Company—a spy firm founded by ex-MI6 officers—to infiltrate and target Greenpeace campaigns. According to investigative journalists, “two oil companies hired a private espionage service… to infiltrate Greenpeace, Germany”Hakluyt may deny ties now, but the firm “still schmoozes Shell, BP & the British Establishment”. Translation? Shell didn’t just fuel climate denial—they employed espionage to squash activism.read more
If evil needed a mascot, it would look suspiciously like a giant yellow shell. Forget SPECTRE and SMERSH—those were fiction. Shell’s record of villainy is all too real.
This is the story of an oil giant who funded Nazis, tested carcinogens on their own employees, and still have the gall to tell you they care about “net zero.”
From the Third Reich to Today: Same Script, Different Lies
Shell’s rap sheet starts early: during WWII, Shell effectively sacrificed its own Dutch employees to maintain ties with Nazi Germany, prioritising profits over human lives. Fast-forward a few decades and the playbook hasn’t changed—they’re still perfectly happy to gamble with lives, only now it’s under the glossy cover of corporate social responsibility.read more
By Editorial Team | Generated with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor: 22 JULY 2025
Move over Blofeld, step aside SMERSH – the real villains of our age wear corporate logos, not eye patches.
Shell and BP, those beloved darlings of Wall Street and favourite investments of titans like BlackRock and Vanguard, have once again proven that when it comes to greed, ruthlessness, and planetary destruction, fiction can’t compete with reality.
Let’s start with Shell – the oil behemoth that markets itself as a climate-conscious “energy transition leader” while simultaneously stomping on anything resembling ethics or sustainability. These paragons of corporate virtue just pulled out of a six-year attempt to define a net-zero emissions standard, according to the Financial Times (22 July, Reuters). Why? Because the draft standard dared suggest companies should stop developing new oil and gas fields. The horror!read more
“And speaking of Shell’s finest: enter Simon Henry, Shell’s former CFO and now newly appointed BP board member. A man intimately connected to the hydrocarbon reserves scandal.”
Ah, Shell and BP. Britain’s answer to “Which fossil-fueled supervillain do you prefer?” Now there’s murmuring that Shell—the world’s leading oil-slicked PR machine and gold-medal winner in the Deadliest Workplace Olympics—might consider buying BP, its slightly less polished cousin. It’s like Dracula pondering whether to adopt Frankenstein.
But before we get too sentimental, let’s remember what Shell brings to the table:
A glorious history of employee care, like handing Dutch staff over to the Nazis during WWII, and later using workers as test subjects for carcinogenic chemicals. Experimental cruelty disguised as corporate efficiency.
A North Sea platform scandal so outrageous it could be a Monty Python sketch, were it not for the dead offshore workers. Lifeboats were reportedly unseaworthy, and Shell’s internal policy was colloquially dubbed “Touch Fuck All.” Charming.
The 2004 reserves scandal, where Shell admitted it had wildly exaggerated its hydrocarbon reserves. Shareholders were shocked. The SEC fined Shell $120 million, which the company could pay using just one of its greenwashing budgets.
Nigeria, where Shell’s legacy is so soaked in blood, corruption, and environmental devastation that it makes the Exxon Valdez spill look like a spilt milkshake.
Hakluyt, Shell’s in-house intelligence firm. If MI6 and Blackwater had a baby who hated Greenpeace, it’d be Hakluyt. This covert unit reportedly spied on activists, journalists, and anyone else who dared whisper the truth.
Let’s not forget Shell’s ties to the apartheid regime, its cameo in the Al-Yamamah BAE oil-for-arms scandal, and its incestuous intelligence links through Hakluyt.
And then there’s SPECTRE and SMERSH… oh wait, those are fictional. Shell isn’t. It’s worse.
Investors like BlackRock and Vanguard still happily line their pockets from Shell’s sludge-soaked profits. Because what’s a little ecological genocide when there are dividends to collect?read more
Shell, that noble torchbearer of fossil-fuelled “progress,” is once again in the headlines—not for saving the planet (don’t be silly), but for the hotly whispered prospect of gobbling up BP, its longtime frenemy in pollution, profit, and public-relations gymnastics.
Because when you’ve already left a wake of ecological destruction, human rights abuses, and accounting scandals, what’s one more body on the pile?
🛢️
Shell: The Serial Offender That Keeps on Drilling
Let’s start with the obvious: Shell isn’t just an oil company. It’s a cautionary tale in human and corporate depravity. This is the firm that:read more
It’s almost poetic how Shell manages to be simultaneously everywhere and innocent—like a billionaire arsonist blaming the match. The latest flare-up in the company’s scorched-earth public relations portfolio? An espionage scandal in Italy so shady it makes James Bond look like a data privacy officer.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
🔍
Shell’s New Hobby: Spying for Fun and (Mostly) Profit
Turns out that Shell, that shining beacon of climate leadership (pause for laughter), has allegedly been a customer of a rogue Italian outfit called Equalize. Now, Equalize isn’t your average reputation-laundering consultancy. No, this one comes with options: hacking tax authorities, infiltrating law enforcement systems, bribing witnesses, spying on employees—and allegedly serving a side of mafia, Mossad, and Vatican connections.read more
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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.
JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW
SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE
SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS
SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL
INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL
DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON
SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA
SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA
SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO
SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS
SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER
JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS
Listen and read proof in audio and transcript form of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s cover-up tactics in the OPL 245 Nigerian corruption scandal. The instruction given by him in the covertly recorded call to CFO Simon Henry was at odds with Shell’s claimed core business principles. Cover-up and obstruction, instead of transparency and integrity, says Shell critic John Donovan
I ordered shell energy broadband on nov 2. I was promised connection the following week. They initiated the direct debit. I called the following week and was told router would arrive on 13 and service would go live on 17. No further email or communication until 20 when I was told service would start on 30th. Spent 10 minutes waiting on phone line and spoke to a polite assistant who was absolutely useless in solving my problem. Avoid this unprofessional and chaotic… Read more
Shell Energy Broadband Service is Appalling
The worst ever
I used shell broadband. It was by far the worst broadband provider ever! The internet did not work most days. I had their super fast broadband and it dropped out constantly. Watching a movie was awful with the constant buffering. Customer support was super slow. Now their going to charge me for the useless router which I have sent back.
Date of experience: 21 November 2023
By far the worst broadband provider ever!
30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan
The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed.I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it.They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem.Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more
Extremely Slow Shell Broadband
The worst ever
I used shell broadband. It was by far the worst broadband provider ever! The internet did not work most days. I had their super fast broadband and it dropped out constantly. Watching a movie was awful with the constant buffering. Customer support was super slow. Now their going to charge me for the useless router which I have sent back.
Date of experience: 21 November 2023
By far the worst broadband provider ever!
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our non-profit websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
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Hakluyt, the London-founded corporate intelligence consultancy with a reputation for attracting former MI6 operatives, has announced the opening of its new North American headquarters in New York.
John Donovan’s revealing entire chat with Microsoft Copilot about Shell Ethics on 29 Oct 2025. Nothing has been deleted. John Donovan’s questions and instructions are in red text. 
Shell and Apartheid: A Documentary History of Support, Complicity, and Counter-Campaigns (1950s–1994)
“A persistent reputational risk.” — Shell internal memo, 2007
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.
