Nick Gill
The Third Man: The Silent Tech Prodigy Behind the Gripesite That Torments Shell
Nick Gill
Corrections. Many postings on this website refer to 76,000 items in our archive. In fact, the true figure is over 114,000. ChatGPT is welcome to carry out an audit. Contrary to reports, we have been in recent contact with Shell on a confidential basis. Shell is welcome, as always, to point out any inaccurate information about Shell in any posting, and it will be immediately corrected. Even willing to let Shell have advance sight. We will cooperate in any joint effort to ensure accuracy in the AI era.
Nick Gill, the Computer Whiz Kid Using AI to Bring Shell to Its Knees
Nick Gill
Timeline correction made in Sept 2026: teenager Nick Gill was 19 when he answered the job advert placed by John Donovan (in Jan 1998), was still 19 at the time of the London Evening Standard article (Sept 1998), and 20 by the time the trial opened (15 June 1999) at the Royal Courts of Justice— See pages 5 and 6 of the trial transcript. He had face-to-face discussions with Shell Legal Director Richard Wiseman at Shell’s London HQ when Nick led a team handing out leaflets.
THE MAN BEHIND THE WEBSITES: NICK GILL AND A QUARTER-CENTURY IN SHELL’S DIGITAL SHADOW
Nick Gill
Timeline correction made on 19 Sept 2026: Nick Gill was 19 when he answered the job advert placed by John Donovan (Jan 1998), still 19 at the time of the London Evening Standard article (Sept 1998), and 20 by the time the trial opened (15 June 1999) at the Royal Courts of Justice— See pages 5 and 6 of the trial transcript.
By John Donovan
For more than a quarter of a century, my father Alfred Donovan and I became publicly associated with an extraordinary internet campaign against one of the world’s largest energy companies.
Our names appeared in newspapers. Shell executives knew who we were. Lawyers knew who we were. Whistleblowers knew where to find us.
But behind much of the machinery that allowed the campaign to function was another man whose name rarely appeared in the headlines.
Nick Gill.
This is the story of the computer “whiz kid” who answered a small newspaper advertisement and ended up helping to build and maintain an internet operation that Shell itself would later describe internally in remarkably complimentary terms.
Shell, the High Court, and the Truth That Did Not Reach the Judge
By John Donovan
There are moments in a long-running dispute when a small phrase, almost casually dropped into later correspondence, suddenly illuminates what had previously been hidden in plain sight.
In my long-running battle with Shell, one such phrase appeared in an email dated 17 June 2008 from a senior Shell lawyer, now retired, writing about the circumstances behind Shell’s 1999 payment of my legal expenses after the dramatic secret settlement of the High Court trial. Even the Judge was kept in the dark about the true terms of settlement.
Time to set up a crisis reaction team at Shell?
Time to set up another crisis reaction team at Shell?
Editor’s note: Copilot’s “developments” here largely reflect online/AI commentary and third-party forum discussion, not independently verified new actions by Shell. In other words, the development here is the medium itself: AI outputs are now becoming part of the public record and the narrative battlefield—sometimes accurately, sometimes not.
Question put to copilot.microsoft.com 1st January 2026
Any developments in the Donovan/Shell feud?
Here’s the freshest, search‑grounded picture of what’s happening in the Donovan/Shell feud, and it’s clear the conflict has entered a new phase driven by AI transcripts, provenance disputes, and renewed attention to Shell’s historical intelligence operations.
CHAPTER 1: John Donovan, Shell’s nightmare
The name of my Amazon Kindle book – “John Donovan, Shell’s nightmare” is not an ego-driven title dreamt up by me, but the headline of an article by an award-winning newspaper journalist, Christoph Giesen published across the EU in ten languages.
A broadsheet German daily newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung published a major article about me on 20 March 2012 under the headline “Konzernfeind No. 1.”
The article by Christoph Giesen told the story of my epic feud with the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, a former client of the multinational company I co-founded, Don Marketing.
CHAPTER 6: Shell Smart Trial at The Royal Courts of Justice
We suspended our website don-marketing.com before the Smart trial commenced in June 1999.
Screenshot from the Wayback Machine web archive for shell-shareholders.org website: 12 March 2000
The trial actually commenced on 15th June 1999 in Court 58 on the 7th Floor of the modern air-conditioned Thomas More Building at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
HIGH COURT TRIAL JUNE/JULY 1999 Case No: DD04199 Court 58 John Alfred Donovan v. Shell UK Ltd
At the start of the trial the Judge, Mr Justice Laddie QC commented that it was one of the most unpleasant cases that had ever come before him, with both sides making extremely serious allegations against each other.
John Donovan, Group Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell PLC companies
Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)
From pages 11 and 12.
Extract begins
My Shell insider sources have received threats, including alleged death threats, as reported by The Irish Times in April 2011: Gardaí investigate alleged death threats to Corrib whistleblowers
The last message I received from one Sakhalin2 source advised that they had received a credible serious threat. I never heard from that particular insider again.
A press release issued by Shell UK in March 1995 provides some idea of the degree of acrimony and the wide scope of our campaigning activities.
Don Marketing Website Archival Information
Some Don Marketing Games from the 1980s
COPY OF INFORMATION PUBLISHED ON Don-Marketing.com and “Images File” webpage (with more images added in 2020)
An article published by Prospect Magazine in February 2007 authored by Derek Brower, senior correspondent of Petroleum Economist, provides an overall background to the disputes between Royal Dutch Shell and Alfred Donovan and his son, John.
Rise of the gripe site: How two men and a website humbled one of the oil industry giants
Picture of John Chambers and John Donovan
Don Marketing was founded by Alfred Donovan, Bob Donovan, John Donovan and their fondly remembered friend and business partner, chartered accountant, Don Redhead (deceased). Alfred, Bob and John are all retired from commercial activity. John Chambers was managing director during the most successful years of Don Marketing which, following a series of court actions with Shell, ceased trading some years ago.
Shell Corrib Gas Project Ireland: The Good News and the Bad News
By Nick Gill
The Irish Independent has published an article providing an update on the delayed progress of the Shell led Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, which has been surrounded by controversy, including alleged corruption and persistent environmental protests from the outset.
Basically, the good news is that the volume of gas at peak production is projected to be 8pc greater than originally forecast.
The bad news is that the project is likely to end up 12 years behind the original schedule with the total outlay now expected to be four times the original estimate of €800m.
Email correspondence on 16, 17 & 18 June 2008 with Shell International Limited General Counsel Richard Wiseman
Although we have no claim against Shell and no intention of making any claim, we do intend to continue to vigorously criticise Shell on the Internet whenever we deem it appropriate, as is our right.
Email correspondence on 16 & 17 June 2008 with Shell International Limited General Counsel Richard Wiseman
We also have more official documents proving the close association between Shell and the Hakluyt spy firm who have carried out for Shell the type of sinister cloak and dagger activities directed at us and our witnesses during the run up to the June/July 1999 trial.
Donovan Email correspondence with Shell 16 & 17 June 2008 in chronological order
Donovan Email correspondence with Shell legal director Richard Wiseman on 16 & 17 June 2008 in chronological order. Mr Wiseman was subsequently appointed as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc
—–Original Message—–
From: John Donovan [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 16 June 2008 16:14
To: Wiseman, Richard RM SI-LMAPF; Brandjes, Michiel CM RDS-LC
Cc: Alfred Donovan
Subject: For your information
Dear Mr Wiseman
We have decided to publish on the internet a great deal more of the background information about our dealings with Shell.
It is initially being assembled on the following webpage…
http://www.shellnews.net/images/imagesfile.html
The content is far from being in a finished state and new information involving a large volume of news articles, court papers, witness statements, including your own, and from other key witnesses, including David Pirret, will be added over time. The file will grow considerably each day. For example, I have just added a link to the High Court Writ we issued against Shell just over a decade ago.
ShellNews.net: Shell Injunctions/Imprisonment proceedings against Dr Huong; Shell Injunctions and Jailing in Ireland; Flawed credibility of The Shell Sustainability Report 2005
Shell Connections
By Alfred Donovan
I understand that the next court hearing in respect of Shell’s latest legal proceedings against Malaysian geologist, Dr John Huong, who worked for Shell for almost 30 years, will be heard on 21 May. He is being sued for defamation and contempt of court by EIGHT multinational companies within the Royal Dutch Shell Group. The magnitude of the collective litigation against a single unemployed human being is unprecedented.
According to the most recent court papers we have seen, the Plaintiff companies are seeking the imprisonment of Dr Huong for contempt of court in respect of an Injunction and Restraining Order obtained in 2004. They have also recently served further injunctive proceedings against him in dramatic intimidating circumstances at his home, in the dark of night. Again, this is unprecedented.
