Cables' revealShell's grip onNigerian stateOil firm executive boasts it has staffplaced in 'every relevant ministry'David Smith Lagos

The oil giant Shell claimed it had insertedstaff into all the main ministries of theNigerian government, giving it accessto politicians' every move in the oil-richNiger Delta, according to a leaked USdiplomatic cable.

The company's top executive in Nigeriatold USdiplomats that Shell had secondedemployees to every relevant departmentand so knew «everything that was beingdone in those ministries". She boastedthat the Nigeriangovemmenthad "forgot-ten" about the extent of Shell's infiltrationand were unaware of how much the com-pany knew about its deliberations.The cache of secret dispatches from

Washington's embassies in Africa alsorevealed that the Anglo-Dutch oil firmswapped intelligence with the US, in

one case providing US diplomats withthe names of Nigerian politicians it sus-pected of supporting militant activity,and requesting 'information from the uson whether the militants had acquiredanti-aircraft missiles.

Other cables released last night reveal:• USdiplomatsfearthatKenyacoulderuptin violence worse than that experiencedafter the election in 2008 unless rampantgovenunent corruption is tackled,• America asked Uganda to let it know ifits army intended to commit war crimesbased on US intelligence - but did not tryto prevent war crimes taking place.• Washington's ambassador to thetroubled African state of Eritrea describedits president, Isaias Afwerki, as a cruel«unhinged dictator" whose regime was"one bullet away from implosion".

The latest revelations came on a day

that saw hackers sympathetic to Wiki-Leaks target MasterCard and Visa overtheir decision to block payments to thewhistleblowers' website.

The website's founder, Julian Assange,spent a second night in jail after a judgerefused him bail prior to an extraditionhearing to face questioning over sexualassault charges in Sweden.

Campaigners last night said the revela-tion about Shell in Nigeria demonstratedthe tangled links between the oil firm andpoliticians in the, country where, despitebillions of dollars in oil revenue, 70% ofpeople live below the poverty line.

Cables from Nigeria show how AnnPickard, then Shell's vice-president forsub-Saharan Africa, sought to share intel-ligence with the US government on mili-tant activity and business competition inthe contested Niger Delta - and how, withsome prescience, she seemed reluctantto open up because ofa suspicion the USgovernment was "leaky".

ButthatdidnotpreventPickarddisclos-ingthe company's reach into the Nigeriangovernment when she met US ambassa-dor Robin Renee Sanders, as recorded ina confidential memo from the USembassyin Abuja on 20 October 2009. '

At the meeting, Pickard related how thecompany had obtained a letter showingthat the Nigerian government had invitedbids for oil concessions from China. Shesaid the minister of state 'for petroleumresources, OdeinAjumogobia, had deniedthe letter had been sent but Shell knewsimilar correspondence had taken placewith China and Russia .

Theambassador reported: "She said theGON [government of Nigeria] had forgot-ten that Shell had seconded people to allthe relevant ministries and that Shell con-sequently had access to everything thatw~s, be~ng done in those 4 9......ministries." - "

Nigeria is Africa's lead-ing oil producer and the eighth biggestexporter in the world, accounting for 8%of US oil impor.ts. Although a recent UN

JIJI~~I~

Continued on page 2 »

Civil servants told US to ignore Browstatement on reducing Trident fleet

David Leigh

Two senior Whitehall officials asdiplomats that the renewal ofTrident nucleardeterrentwould:apparently contradictingthen prister Gordon Brown's public st.proposing some disarmament baccording to leaked US embassy

The London embassy sent aseback to Washington last autuming conversations with the two (ants, Richard Freer and Judith (which they cast doubt on the sigof Brown's announcement at theeral assembly that Britain migrnumber of planned new Tridenrlnes from four to three.It is not clear from the cables

the Britons were speaking onauthority. In the dispatches, USofficials describe them as "HMGesty's Government] sources" <3

that their identities should be PtFreer is one ofWhitehall's mos

ttal officials and a member ofDaeron's small team of private secrDowning Street.

According to the leaked ca~anxiety about the future of Britdent missiles followed Brown'at the UN in September 2009 (nuclear disarmament.

In London, Freer and GoughAmericans that Brown's wordsa surprise to them because theiactual change of British nucleunder way. There would conth"no daylight" between the US aton the existing szobn Trident repscheme, the Americans were ass

One US dispatch, classified'noforn", meaning only for US e-"[Brown's] announcement of'afleet reduction caught many inFCO and Cabinet Office by surprIt continued: "Dr Richard Free

protect) head of defence andpolicy ... told Poloff [politicaSeptember 23 that 'in an ideal whave done a bit more pre-vettirspeech]'. One of Freer's Cabindeputies was blunter, telling P,the announcement was 'unexps

"Both Freer and Judith GougJprotect), deputy head of thepolicy group at the Foreign amonwealth Office, stressed j

that HMG has not formallyto scale back the deterrent blonly do so if a governmentreview determines, in Freer'that it would be 'technically femaintain 'continuous deterrencwith three submarines ...

HMS Vengeance, one offour Vanguard class boats with Trident nuclear missiles.The us feared ItmIght not be renewed Photograph, Graeme Hart/Perthshire Picture Continued on page 2 »

On defining day for tuition fees, more mass action plannedPatrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt

In what is set to be a defining day forEnglish universities and politics, mostLiberal Democrat MPs are expected todayto join their party leader, Nick Clegg, toforce through a trebling of universitytuition fees, in the face of what are likelyto be angry student street protests and bit-ter recriminations at Westminster.

at one point demanded the energy secre-tary, Chris Huhne, make the s.ooo-mtletrip home from the climate change sum-mit in Cancun, Mexico, to vote. Later, itemerged he would stay at the summit.

In a further sign of the stresses, SimonHughes, the party's deputy leader, told hislocal party he would be abstaining fromthe vote at the end of this evening's five-hour debate. Hughes made his decision

despite playing a prominent role in win-ning three last-minute concessions fromthe business department coveringscholar-ships, part-time students and the £21,000repayment threshold.

Other Liberal Democrat ministers, suchas the schools secretary, Sarah Teather,found themselves hounded by TV cam-eras as they left their homes, refusing toanswer reporters' questions.

Clegg has ensured that all 17 Liberal

pledge and vote against, including twoformer leaders, Charles Kennedy and SirMenzies Campbell.

Conservative and Labour whips expectan overall majority of about 30 for theincrease, but it has become the first seri-ous test of the coalition's coherence sincethe election in May.

In a media blitz, Clegg accepted that,before the election, he had pledged to getrid oftuitio~ fees over two parliaments,

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Cables revealShell's grip onNigerian state«continued from page 1

report largely exonerated the company,critics accuse Shell, the biggest operator inthe delta, and other companies, of causingwidespread pollution and environmen-tal damage in the region. Militant groupsengaged in hostage-taking and sabotagehave proliferated,

The WikiLeaks disclosure was yester-day seized on by campaigners as evidenceof Shell's vice-like grip on the country'soil wealth. "Shell and the government ofNigeria are two sides of the same coin:'said Celestine AkpoBari, programmeofficer for Social ActioIliNigeria .......

«Shell is everywhere: They have an eyeand an ear in every ministry of Nigeria.They have people on the payroll in everycommunity, which is why they get awaywith everything. They are more powerfulthan the Nigerian government."

The criticism was echoed by BenAmunwa of the London-based oil watch-dog Platform, "Sheil claims to have noth-ing to do with Nigerian politics:' he said."In reality, Shell works deep inside the sys-tem, and has long exploited political chan-nels in Nigeria to its own advantage."

Nigerialast night strenuously denied theclaim. LeviAjuonoma, aspokesmanforthestate-owned Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation, said: "Sheil does not controlthe government of Nigeria and has nevercontrolled the government of Nigeria. Thiscable is the mere interpretation of one indi-

_ vidual. It is absolutely untrue, an absolute::falsehood and utterly misleading. It is anarternptto demean the government and wewill not stand for that. Idon't think any-body will lose sleep over it,"

Another cable released yesterday, fromthe US consulate in Lagos and dated 19September 2008, claims that Pickard toldUS diplomats that two named regionalpoliticians were behind unrest in the Riv-ers state. She also asked if the American

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diplomats had any intelligence on ship-ments of surface to air missiles (SAMs) tomilitants in the Niger Delta.

"She claimed Shell has 'intelligence'that one to three SAMs may have beenshipped to Nigerian militant groups,although she seemed somewhat scepticalof that information and wondered if suchsensitive systems would last long in theharsh environment of the Niger Delta,"the cable said.

Pickard also said Shell had learned fromthe British government details of Russianenergy company Gazprom's ambitions toenter the Nigerian market. In June lastyear, Gazprom signed a sz.sbn (£1.5bn)deal with the Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation to build refineries, pipelinesand gas power stations.

Shell put a request to the US consu-late for potentially sensitive intelligenceabout its possible rival, which she said hadsecured a promise from the Nigerian gov-ernment of access to 17 trillion cubic feetof natural gas - roughly a tenth of Nigeria'sentire reserves, "Pickard said that amountof gas was only available if the GON wereto take concessions currently assignedto other oil companies and give them toGazprom. She assumed Shell would be theGON's prime target." Pickard alleged that a

the new fragrance

'Shell does not controlNigeria. This cable isabsolutely untrue,an absolute falsehood'conversation with a Nigerian governmentminister had been secretly recorded by theRussians. Shortly after the meeting in theminister's office she received a verbatimtranscript of the meeting "from Russia",according to the memo.

The cable concludes with the observa-tion that the oil executive had tended tobe guarded in discussion with US officials."Pickard has repeatedly told us she doesnot like to talk to USG [US government]officials because the USG is 'leaky'." Shemay be concerned that ... bad news aboutShell's Nigerian operations will leak out."

Shell declined to comment on theallegations, saying: "You are seeking ourviews on a leaked cable allegedly contain-ing information about a private conversa-tion involving a Shell representative, buthave declined to share this cable or to per-mit us sufficient time to obtain informa-tion from the person you say took part inthe conversation on the part of Shell. Inview of this, we cannot comment on thealleged contents of the cable, includingthe correctness or incorrectness of anystatements you say it contains."

Pipelines carrying oil in Nigeria

USwas told toignore Tridentstatement«continued from page 1

"Freer criticised media for exaggiingthe significance of Brown's annoument, opining that it was 'not reamajor disarmament announcement'

The cable added: "Julian Miller,deputy head of the foreign and defpolicy secretariat at the Cabinet Ofassured the political minister ccunsSeptember 24 that HMG would corwith the US regardingfuture devements concerning the Trident deterto assure there would be 'no daylbetween the US and UK."

A Foreign Office spokesman refus:say yesterday whether or not the twccials had authority to talk to the US,

US concern about the future ofdent had first surfaced a few weekslier, before Brown's speech to thewhen British media carried unattribpolitical briefings which suggestecLabour government intended to (crucial Trident replacement decisiot

The nuclear-armed French initbelieved this news was significant,one French official telling the US: "Tfis starting to seem really convinceddisarmament is possible, since itabandon its Trident submarine-launballistic missile programme."

TheFrenchweresoupset theyprotrto US diplomats that Labour miniwere acting like "demagogues", Brestance that nuclear weapons in gewere immoral was, by implication, trerring "an essential part of French strtidentity", they complained. Britishservants said the hints of disarma:were confined to the Cabinet Office.

The US charge d'affaires, RicLeBaron, told Washington Gougealso named the British official behinoff-the-record media briefings. "J1Gough (protect) ... told Poloff July 2the unnamed official who had briefepress was Simon McDonald, the'net Office head of foreign and deJpolicy. She said that press reports ;;HMG plans to defer Trident replacedesign work 'came as news' to FC(MoD officers ...

"Diana Venn (protect), an officthe Cabinet Office's foreign and depolicy secretariat, told Poloff July 2:there had been a 'slight rnisundersing' when McDonald briefed the IShe stressed that 'Trident is not 0table ... we won't disarm untlaterall'

The new Conservative administraidescribed as pro-Trident inthe dtspa"Conservative party defence sohave privately affirmed to embassyers their commitment to the Trdeterrent," diplomats cabled befoigeneral election.

The Conservative government's C1public position is that a Trident retment decision is being deferred for s

. years, past the next general electiorTrident missiles are leased fro]

US. The cables detail how Britain':marines, which carry the rmssilesnuclear warheads, depend on "subs!American design assistance".

Students planmore massaction today«continued from page 1

struggling to explain its policy becauseof the "scary" £9,000 upper limit on tui-tion fees. Asked on Radio S Live why hehad been unable to explain why the newsystem would be fairer, the deputy primeminister said: "Partly because the figurewhich has, in a sense, been caught in theheadlights is the £9,000 figure. In fact the£9,000 figure is only going to happen onan exceptional basis.

"Because that is such a simple. big,scary figure, no one perhaps is lookingbeyond that headline and asking whatdoes it mean in terms of how you repay.In a sense that is relatively complex.

"We are needing a lot of time to explainover and over again what weare proposing,rather than what people are alleging we~rp nrnnosinz."

were thinking of rebelling becattheir unease about the coalition.isn't about tuition fees. It is aboutcians saying one thing to get electea different thing when they are in g(ment ... Iam a Conservative, Iamcoalitionist. "

And agroup of university vice-chlors published a letter last night aJthat the cost of the student loan scwas so expensive that there wouldnet savings to the exchequer.

There were calls for the polictoday's protests - which are expecsee tens of thousands of demonsttarget Westminster - to be restr:Last night, 28 signatories, includingists, students, journalists and an hitheir name to a letter urging theto respond to tomorrow's protestpeaceful manner".

The Labour MP Jon Cruddas, theist and musician Billy Bragg, the NUident, Aaron Porter, and about agroups of students who are occrtheir universities Signed the letter,said that protesters had resorted toaction after being "comprehensivdown by the parliamentary proces:It added: "Following the erne]