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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 13d

Watch witkoff www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/b...

Where Mideast Envoy Pitched Peace, His Son Pitched Investors

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Henry Dyer @direthoughts.com · 26d

Really excellent summary of some of the top stories from the Boris Files, put together by @tomburgis.bsky.social with me and @harryfoxdavies.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

What Boris did next: files reveal troubling secrets of the ex-PM’s pursuit of profit

In his international dash for cash, Johnson appears to have repeatedly broken ethics rules as he tried to trade on relationships made in No 10

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

That’s a good point but all have consented to us running the pictures (and James Coussey has died). You can find more about the private intelligence firms in the articles.

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

The @theguardian.com is investigating this secretive surveillance industry. Its operations extend from hunting down domestic abuse victims to gigs for Russia, China and other hostile powers.

Do you have information we should know? Reach me here tomburgis.com/about or send a secure message: (8/8)

How to contact the Guardian securely

Some of the most important stories published by the Guardian have come from confidential tips. If you have something sensitive to share with us, here’s how to get in touch

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

These are just a handful of the surveillance operations taking place all around us every day in secret. For state agencies, there are strict rules. For private operatives, not so much... (7/8)

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Is surveillance by private operators legal in the UK?

Although laws govern state agencies, there is no equivalent for private spies who are free to follow people around

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

This time the client was a multinational salmon-farming corporation. Its unnamed owners were led by a moneyman who made his fortune in Moscow. (6/8)

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Revealed: spies for hire used ‘Big Brother’ tactics on salmon farm activists

Guardian investigation sheds light on private intelligence industry that runs covert surveillance operations

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

And another target: Don Staniford. Like Corin Smith, an activist exposing what goes on in Scottish salmon farms. (5/8)

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

The spy firm - ex-Para Damian Ozenbrook's Blue Square Global - says its work is lawful and proper.

Here’s another target. Corin Smith. He documents horrific conditions at Scottish salmon farms. He believes he was with his young child when this surveillance picture was taken. (4/8)

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

The spies' client? Oligarchs whose business affairs were under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. As Andy Slaughter, the chair of parliament’s justice committee, puts it: “The hunter has become the hunted.” @hammersmithandy.bsky.social (3/8)

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Revealed: oligarchs spied on UK lawyers who ran Serious Fraud Office cases

The Guardian has obtained surveillance images taken by hired spies whose goal is said to have been identifying sources and gaining ‘leverage’

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

Here’s a picture the spies took of Tom Martin. Like Coussey, a lawyer who had run some of the Serious Fraud Office’s most sensitive financial crime cases. (2/8)

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Aug 10

This is a story about spies. Though they are highly trained, they don’t work for an intelligence agency. They work for paying clients.

One target was James Coussey. He'd been a criminal prosecutor. Why were they after him? My new @theguardian.com investigation (1/8)

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · Aug 6

Just announced: the UK's most famous libel firm, Carter-Ruck, is being prosecuted before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for recklessly enabling a $4bn fraud

It's astonishing how reckless Carter-Ruck was - likely causing $$$ more to be lost to fraudsters

The full story:

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Jun 29

Two activists started exposing what was going on inside Scottish salmon farms. Soon they were being followed by spies for hire.

My new investigation into the surveillance industry. @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Revealed: spies for hire used ‘Big Brother’ tactics on salmon farm activists

Guardian investigation sheds light on private intelligence industry that runs covert surveillance operations

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Basil de Gres @basildegres.bsky.social · Jun 22

Trump’s a kleptocrat: How power became corruption - lessons on state capturing, when "institutions serve the few instead of shielding the many".

Interview of @tomburgis.bsky.social on @listentotimesradio.bsky.social

'Trump’s a kleptocrat’: How power became corruption | Tom Burgis

YouTube video by Times Radio

youtu.be

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Greg Miller @gregpmiller.bsky.social · Jun 17

Trump's ambassador to Israel seems to be making Hiroshima (and Saigon?) references in private texts to the president.

Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · Jun 17

Trump just shared this alarming text from Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee, effusively praising him while telling him that no president has been in his position "since Truman in 1945" (when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Japan) & that he "will hear a voice from heaven" telling him what to do.

text screenshot: Mike Huckabee >
Mr President, God spared you in Butler, PA to be the most consequential President in a century-maybe ever.
The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice. | am your appointed servant in this land and am available for you but I do not try to get in your presence often because I trust your instincts. No President in my lifetime has been in a position like yours. Not since Truman in 1945. I don't reach out to persuade you. Only to encourage you. I believe you will hear from heaven and that voice is far more important than mine or ANYONE else's. You sent me to Israel to be your eyes, ears and voice and to make sure our flag flies above our embassy. My job is to be the last one to leave.
I will not abandon this post. Our flag will NOT come down! You did not seek this moment.
This moment sought
YOU! It is my honor to serve you!
Mike Huckabee

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Jun 9

Exposing wrongdoing has always taken bravery. As threats to journalism increase, so does the need to protect sources. Secure Messaging is an important new tool that makes it easier to share confidential information with journalists at the Guardian.

www.theguardian.com/membership/2...

In a dangerous era for journalism – a powerful new tool to help protect sources

Today, the Guardian, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, launches Secure Messaging, a world-first from a media organisation

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · May 1

There’s a huge risk here that’s been ignored. It’s the resource curse. Economies dominated by oil and mining tend to be massively corrupt - because those industries concentrate power in the hands of those who control access to the resources. The fate Ukraine has been fighting to escape.

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · Apr 30

⚡️BREAKING: Ukraine, US sign minerals deal.

Ukraine and the United States on April 30 signed a long-awaited minerals agreement that establishes a joint investment fund for reconstruction in Ukraine.

BREAKING: Ukraine, US sign minerals deal

Ukraine and the United States on April 30 signed a long-awaited minerals agreement that establishes a joint investment fund for reconstruction in Ukraine.

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Graphika @graphika.com · Apr 29

Hong Kong exiles in the UK are being targeted online as part of a larger coordinated effort to attack China's opponents.
Graphika analysts reviewed social media posts for a new investigation by @theguardian.com's @tomburgis.bsky.social and @maevemcclenaghan.bsky.social: graphika.com/posts/graphi...

Graphika In The News: The Guardian examines Chinese targeting of Hong Kong exiles

A new report from The Guardian citing Graphika found that Hong Kong exiles in the United Kingdom are being targeted online as part of a larger coordinated effort to attack China's opponents.

graphika.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Dr. Manisha Ganguly @manisha.bsky.social · Apr 29

The Viktoriia project launches today- our first story. Our deep dive into Russian detention centres, with @shaunwalker7.bsky.social and @forbidden-stories.bsky.social consortium to follow tomorrow.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

‘Numerous signs of torture’: a Ukrainian journalist’s detention and death in Russian prison

The Guardian, working with media partners, has tracked down first-hand accounts to reconstruct Viktoriia Roshchyna’s final months

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Scilla Alecci @scillaa.bsky.social · Apr 28

In the U.K. @tomburgis.bsky.social & Maeve McClenaghan revealed how an online campaign urged far right to attack China’s opponents in UK www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Revealed: online campaign urged far right to attack China’s opponents in UK

Social media incitement following last summer’s riots appears to be new tactic against Hong Kong exiles

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Apr 28

What's it like to be hunted? Our latest investigation reveals the worldwide reach of China's authoritarian rulers. #ChinaTargets @icij.org @hopenothate.org.uk

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Revealed: online campaign urged far right to attack China’s opponents in UK

Social media incitement following last summer’s riots appears to be new tactic against Hong Kong exiles

www.theguardian.com

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Tom Burgis @tomburgis.bsky.social · Apr 15

SCOOP: Researchers from China are to be allowed access to half a million UK GP records despite western intelligence agencies’ fears about the authoritarian regime amassing health data. My latest @theguardian.com investigation.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Revealed: Chinese researchers can access half a million UK GP records

Medical information will be available from UK Biobank, despite western intelligence agencies’ security fears

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Tom Burgis

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · Apr 2

🔴 Trump, Vance etc love to talk about free speech - but the Republicans are overseeing a massive Slapps campaign to silence their opponents

I spoke to @davidenrich.bsky.social about his vital new book Murder the Truth

New on Democracy for Sale:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/murdering-...

Murdering the truth: Inside Trump’s war on journalism

New York Times reporter David Enrich on how American oligarchs, billionaires and MAGA politicians are using the law to silence their opponents

democracyforsale.substack.com

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