Collusion of British diplomats with British American Tobacco

The case of the inauguration of a cigarette factory in Jordan by the British ambassador to Yemen is the most documented, but several similar cases have been identified in other low- and middle-income countries. Situations that revive the need to protect official representatives of states from any relationship with tobacco companies.

A study by the Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) at the University of Bath has not only highlighted the opening of a cigarette factory in Jordan by the UK ambassador to Yemen, but also highlighted the withholding of information about it by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).[1]Despite the UK's commitments to combating smoking, this case appears far from being an exception.

A factory inauguration that is hard to admit

During their tobacco industry monitoring mission, TCRG researchers first discovered an Arabic-language news article in 2020 about Kamaran, a Yemeni cigarette manufacturer owned at 31 % by British American Tobacco (BAT). The article discussed Kamaran’s funding of a newspaper, an armed group involved in the Yemeni civil war, and the presence of British Ambassador Michael Aron at the opening of a factory in Jordan. An Arabic-language press release on Kamaran’s website detailed the opening, which included two other officials, the Yemeni ambassador to Jordan and the Jordanian ambassador to Yemen. Notably, the Jordanian factory was located in a free zoneIn a television interview, Michael Aron also stressed that BAT's investments in Yemen would benefit both BAT and Yemen.

The TCRG researchers then relied on the Freedom of Information Act, a right to information that allows public authorities to obtain documents. They wrote to the FCDO to request information on the presence of this diplomat at this inauguration but, after several reminders, did not receive a response on this point, a clause of confidentiality of business being invoked among other things. A further request by the TCRG, arguing that the transmission of this information was in the public interest and required by the United Kingdom's commitments to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), was also rejected. The TCRG then lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, which allowed the withheld information to be lifted.

The FCDO's response revealed that it did not record activities and receptions that were not on the diplomats' official agenda, which cast a veil over all informal meetings. The FCDO acknowledged that it had received a request from East of England Trading Co., in order to overcome a commercial conflict with the Jordanian authorities. The FCDO reportedly declined on the grounds that it was a company linked to the tobacco sector. The authors of the study also point out that the FCDO's recommendations to diplomats posted abroad clearly state that contacts with the tobacco industry are not permitted, even incidentally citing the case of British factory openings.

Endemic contacts between British diplomats and tobacco industry

This case appears far from isolated, since the study also mentions that British diplomats have supported BAT's actions in several other countries. This was the case in Panama in 2012 to counter a tax increase, in Bangladesh in 2013 during a trial for unpaid taxes, or in Pakistan in 2015 to fight the expansion of health warnings and in 2020 to promote Velo nicotine pouches. British officials have also had repeated contacts with tobacco manufacturers in Venezuela, Cuba, Laos and Burundi.

British diplomats, however, do not have exclusive rights to close relations with the tobacco industry. The study thus highlights lobbying actions for other tobacco multinationals involving Swiss ambassadors in Moldova (2019), German ambassadors in Lebanon (2022), Japanese ambassadors in Bangladesh (2021), Ethiopia and Tanzania (2015), or American ambassadors in Vietnam (2017).

Enforce Article 5.3 of the FCTC

The authors of the study therefore note that the UK's attitude is particularly ambivalent towards tobacco. This country is considered one of the most advanced in terms of tobacco control and implementation of the principles of the FCTC, but does not seem to apply these principles to other countries, especially when they are low or middle income. The logic of supporting tobacco manufacturers thus seems to persist over the decades.[2], despite international commitments and internal FCDO recommendations.

However, Article 5.3 of the FCTC and its implementing guidelines insist that the tobacco industry is not an economic sector like any other and that contacts with its representatives must be limited to what is strictly necessary, with transparency of meetings when they take place. The authors call not only for better implementation of the guidelines of this provision adopted at one of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the treaty. This involves extending to the diplomatic corps the standardized procedure aimed at supervising contacts with the tobacco industry. The authors of the study also recommend using all the tools dedicated to the public's right to information to ensure proper compliance with these provisions.

Keywords: United Kingdom, Yemen, Jordan, diplomats, BAT.

M.F.

[1] Alebshehy R, Silver K, Chamberlain P, A “willingness to be orchestrated”: Why are UK diplomats working with tobacco companies? Forehead. Public Health, 2023, 11:977713. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.977713

[2] Safi M, UK ambassador to Yemen took part in opening of Jordanian cigarette factory, The Guardian, published March 19, 2023, accessed March 22, 2023.