REVEALED: How foreign polluters pour cash into British think tank to influence UK politics
Exxon and Shell among polluters who meddle with our domestic policy to serve their profiteering while the world burns
Foreign polluters with deep pockets and dirtier agendas secretly funnelled vast sums of money into a powerful UK think tank in a covert attempt to sway British politics, a shocking investigation has revealed.
Documents uncovered by DeSmog show that the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)—a free-market lobby group with close ties to senior politicians—accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds from oil giants including BP, Shell and Exxon, while pushing policies that weaken Britain’s response to climate change.
Decades of meddling
The funding, stretching from the late 1950s to the early 2000s, exposes how multinational fossil fuel corporations—many headquartered abroad—quietly embedded themselves in the heart of UK political debate, using a supposedly independent think tank as their mouthpiece.
Among the biggest donors was Exxon, the US oil behemoth long accused of suppressing climate science, which channelled more than £124,000 into the IEA via its UK subsidiary Esso. Anglo-Dutch giant Shell handed over £106,000, while BP contributed at least £150,000.
In total, almost £480,000 from oil and gas firms flowed into the organisation—much of it during the critical years when governments were beginning to grapple with global warming and environmental regulation.
The timing is no coincidence. During this same period, the IEA ramped up its attacks on climate policies, dismissing environmental regulation as “economic vandalism” and arguing Britain should expand fossil fuel extraction—positions that neatly aligned with the commercial interests of its foreign donors.
Campaigners warn this amounts to back-door political interference, with overseas polluters effectively buying influence over UK public debate without ever facing the scrutiny required of political donors.
Media interference
Adding another troubling dimension, the investigation also revealed payments from Rupert Murdoch’s News International, a global media empire with headquarters and operations spanning multiple countries. More than £160,000 was donated in the 1990s—a connection never previously disclosed.
This created a powerful feedback loop: foreign fossil fuel money funding a think tank whose views were then amplified by international media outlets hostile to green policies.
Despite its influence, the IEA has never published a full list of its donors, claiming anonymity protects supporters. But MPs and transparency advocates say secrecy only fuels suspicion that Britain’s democratic debate has been quietly manipulated by overseas interests.
Labour MP Clive Lewis said the revelations showed “Without checks on corporate power, the health of our democracy is undermined”.
IEA denial
The IEA insists it is an independent educational charity and denies donor influence over its work. But the evidence paints a stark picture: foreign polluters, operating behind closed doors, helping to steer UK politics away from environmental responsibility—while British voters remain in the dark.
As calls grow for tighter rules on think tanks and foreign funding, one question looms large: how much of Britain’s climate debate has already been shaped by money from abroad?