THE Foreign Office is funding a UK-establishment group called the Tatlidil Forum which is “courting” the “brutal” Turkish regime, but the British government refuses to answer questions about it, Declassified UK has reported.
 
The Tatlidil Forum was started in 2011 by prime minister David Cameron and Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “facilitate and strengthen relations” between the two countries.

Its co-chair is Labour former foreign secretary Jack Straw, while its patron is reportedly Prince Andrew.
 
It’s an annual off-record two-day conference which has been attended by senior British politicians, ministers, royalty and businessmen. The location alternates each year between the Britain and Turkey.
 
The Foreign Office recently said it contributed £11,700 to the forum in 2022, Declassified UK reported. The government department says the Tatlidil Forum was not a government body so it couldn’t answer any questions about it. It also couldn’t say who co-funds it or when and where the next conference would be.
 
The Foreign Office said. “Turkey is a key partner to the UK and an important Nato ally. The Tatlidil Forum is not a government body. The Foreign Office provides limited financial support.”
 
Funders of the Tatlidil Forum have included BAE Systems and Rolls Royce which are two of Britain’s biggest weapons companies. It has also been backed by Shell and BP, Declassified UK said.
 
Declassified said: “It appears the Tatlidil Forum is a key mechanism the British establishment uses to promote its commercial and military interests in Turkey.”
 
Trade between Britain and Turkey rose 20 per cent in the last year, and the British government approved the export of £1.8 billion in weapons to Turkey.
 
Former British foreign secretary Jack Straw is co-chair of the forum while another former UK foreign secretary, Alan Duncan, has said Prince Andrew is the patron and president of the Tatlidil Forum.
 
The name of one of the Turkish co-chairs — Bulent Goktuna, founder and chairman of consultancy Mineks International — has previously appeared in the Paradise Papers.
 
Turkey has a poor record on human rights, with Reporters Without Borders naming it the “world’s biggest prison for journalists” in 2012.