Mark Allen (businessman)
Encyclopedia
Sir Mark Allen KCMG
is a retired former United Kingdom
spy
, turned businessman and academic lecturer.
Allen was educated at Downside School
, a private school in Somerset
, and having studied Arabic at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
, he joined the British Foreign Service, where he worked for 30 years. After studying at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies, a claimed British ‘spy school’ in a village near Beirut
, he was posted to Abu Dhabi
in 1974, where he developed a love of falconry
from his contacts with Bedouin
to the extent that he wrote a series of books on the subject. He then spent much of the rest of his operational career in the Middle East.
In 2003, as head of MI6’s counter-terrorism unit, Allen and Stephen Kappes
of the CIA, lead talks which resulted in an end of support for terrorist activity by Colonel
Muammar al-Gaddafi
’s Libya
, and a resultant end of international sanctions against Libya. After losing out to John Scarlett
in his bid to become head of MI6, in which he was supported by his friend Jack Straw
, Allen resigned in 2004.
After a six month sabbatical, Allen became a Senior Advisor to the Monitor Group, a global consulting and private equity firm. He was also approved by the Cabinet Office
and then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
to be allowed to immediately work as a special advisor for BP
. Allen used his contacts in both the United Kingdom and Libya to resolve the issues surrounding the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in relations to the Lockerbie bombing. Allen developed his relationships with the Libyan regieme through Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, who studied for Ph.D at the London School of Economics
. BP later signed a £15Bn contract with Libya, for a joint venture in oil exploration and extraction. In 2010, he was requested to appear before the US Senate committee investigating the release of al-Megrahi in relationship to BP's oil deal, something which as an advisor to BP he was blocked from doing so. In 2007, he helped broker the release of Bulgaria
n nurses imprisoned in Libya on charges of having injected HIV virus into children
.
On 6 September 2011, The Independent
newspaper claimed that Allen was implicated in the arrest of Abdelhakim Belhaj in March 2004 in Thailand
, and the subsequent torture of Belhaj by Gaddafi's regime in Abu Salim prison
in Tripoli
, Libya.
Allen is presently a Senior Associate and honorary fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, and is a member of the board at LSE Ideas.
Allen was inducted into the Order of St Michael and St George
in 2002, and knighted in 2005. A devout Roman Catholic, he lives in Westminster
.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
is a retired former United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, turned businessman and academic lecturer.
Allen was educated at Downside School
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...
, a private school in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and having studied Arabic at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, he joined the British Foreign Service, where he worked for 30 years. After studying at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies, a claimed British ‘spy school’ in a village near Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, he was posted to Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
in 1974, where he developed a love of falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
from his contacts with Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
to the extent that he wrote a series of books on the subject. He then spent much of the rest of his operational career in the Middle East.
In 2003, as head of MI6’s counter-terrorism unit, Allen and Stephen Kappes
Stephen Kappes
Stephen R. Kappes was the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency , until his resignation on April 14, 2010. He had served in the CIA since 1981, with a two-year hiatus. A career clandestine operations professional, Mr...
of the CIA, lead talks which resulted in an end of support for terrorist activity by Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
’s Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and a resultant end of international sanctions against Libya. After losing out to John Scarlett
John Scarlett
Sir John McLeod Scarlett, KCMG, OBE was Director General of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 2004 to 2009...
in his bid to become head of MI6, in which he was supported by his friend Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
, Allen resigned in 2004.
After a six month sabbatical, Allen became a Senior Advisor to the Monitor Group, a global consulting and private equity firm. He was also approved by the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
and then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
to be allowed to immediately work as a special advisor for BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
. Allen used his contacts in both the United Kingdom and Libya to resolve the issues surrounding the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in relations to the Lockerbie bombing. Allen developed his relationships with the Libyan regieme through Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, who studied for Ph.D at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. BP later signed a £15Bn contract with Libya, for a joint venture in oil exploration and extraction. In 2010, he was requested to appear before the US Senate committee investigating the release of al-Megrahi in relationship to BP's oil deal, something which as an advisor to BP he was blocked from doing so. In 2007, he helped broker the release of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n nurses imprisoned in Libya on charges of having injected HIV virus into children
HIV trial in Libya
The HIV trial in Libya concerns the trials, appeals and eventual release of six foreign medical workers charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, causing an epidemic at El-Fatih Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya.The defendants were a Palestinian...
.
On 6 September 2011, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper claimed that Allen was implicated in the arrest of Abdelhakim Belhaj in March 2004 in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and the subsequent torture of Belhaj by Gaddafi's regime in Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison is a top security prison in Tripoli, Libya which was often described as notorious for mistreatment and human rights abuses by human rights activists and other observers before the overthrow of the government of 40 years standing in 2011....
in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Libya.
Allen is presently a Senior Associate and honorary fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, and is a member of the board at LSE Ideas.
Allen was inducted into the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 2002, and knighted in 2005. A devout Roman Catholic, he lives in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
.
Books
- Arabs: A New Perspective, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006.
- With Hossein Amirsadeghi, Sky Hunters: The Passion of Falconry, Thames & Hudson, 24 November 2008
- Tribes: Tribalism in the Arab World, Continuum International Publishing Group, due October 2009.