British Prime Minister Andy Burnham commissioned the Boston Consulting Group to assign an adviser to help develop the government's long-term policy vision. Green Party leader Zack Polanski and other opponents condemned the contract, pointing to the American consultancy's past work calculating the costs of relocating over 500,000 Gazans. That specific project was linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which ran distribution hubs where more than 2,600 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces or private contractors. The firm later dismissed staff and launched an internal inquiry, while charities like Save the Children International paused their joint work.
Key points
The British administration defended hiring an external adviser as a short-term measure de…: The British administration defended hiring an external adviser as a short-term measure despite wider pledges to reduce consulting expenditures.
Opposition figures argue that utilizing corporate management consultants undermines promi…: Opposition figures argue that utilizing corporate management consultants undermines promises to reverse neoliberal policy approaches.
Boston Consulting Group claimed its controversial Gaza relocation cost-modeling was condu…: Boston Consulting Group claimed its controversial Gaza relocation cost-modeling was conducted covertly before terminating the employees involved.
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British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has turned to an American consulting group that worked with the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to help draft a plan that was supposed to “end neoliberalism” in the UK.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), whose former employees include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Burnham’s chief of staff, James Purnell, has been hired to help shape the prime minister’s 10-year plan.
One of the “big three” management consultancy firms, BCG has been accused of aiding Israeli starvation tactics that amount to war crimes and genocide, and of being implicated in the killing of thousands of Palestinians.
The Boston-based consultancy helped establish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and supported a related security company before distancing itself from the project.
The aid distribution organisation caused the death of over 2,600 Palestinians in Gaza and the injury of many thousands more. GHF ran four aid distribution sites in Gaza where Palestinians seeking aid were deliberately shot by Israeli soldiers or US security contractors hired by the organisation.
Downing Street has turned to outside corporate advisers to shape a decade-long domestic reform strategy, drawing immediate criticism from progressive opponents. The selected strategy firm faces intense scrutiny over its prior paid modeling of Palestinian displacement and its ties to fatal humanitarian operations. Critics argue the appointment directly contradicts the administration's pledges to break away from market-driven governance models.
Iranian officials moved quickly to quell speculation regarding high-level engagement between Tehran and Washington. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi firmly rejected circulating claims of upcoming diplomatic discussions, calling them baseless rumors. The clarification establishes that Tehran is not arranging bilateral talks between its security leadership and the American executive branch.
Lawmakers are demanding renewed federal scrutiny into decades of investigative shortcomings surrounding sex trafficking operations run by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. House investigators contend that federal authorities systemically let down victims by leaving critical leads and associates unexamined. To correct past failures, the committee is pressing federal agencies to grant victims full access to their files and reopen inquiries into potential co-conspirators.