The Atlantic Bridge

The Atlantic Bridge (TAB) is a conservative atlanticist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States with strong ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council and neoconservatives. (The US organization is usually referred to as The Atlantic Bridge, Inc.)  TAB has strong links with The Heritage Foundation, the Center for Security Policy and BICOM -- and BICOM is the principal funder of TAB.

TAB's Objectives

 * To establish, and then develop rapidly, a strong, well-positioned, network of like-minded conservatives in politics, business, journalism and academe on both sides of the Atlantic.
 * To develop new and relevant policy ideas, building on the common thinking which underpins the natural trans-Atlantic alliance between the UK and the USA;
 * To publicise widely such policy initiatives and stimulate discussion of how best to develop them further.
 * To establish a small board of advisers whose role would be to help oversee the expansion of the group. This expansion is a vital step in building the network that is essential to the overall aims of the group. The focus point of the group will be an ongoing series of bi-annual speaker dinners to be held in London and cities across the United States. These dinners will have three aims. Firstly, to allow potential members to get a better understanding about who we are and what the group does. Secondly, to discuss policy issues and disseminate information. Thirdly, to ensure that the network is in regular active contact and to prevent it from becoming stale.

US Advisory Council
Accessed September 2010:


 * Jon Kyl
 * John Campbell
 * Jim DeMint
 * Lindsey Graham
 * James Inhofe
 * Joe Lieberman
 * Adam Putnam

US Board
Accessed September 2010:


 * Clark S. Judge - Chair
 * Frank Swain
 * Scott Syfert
 * Paul Wright
 * Amanda Bowman – CEO of the US branch

US Executive Council
Accessed September 2010:


 * Scott Syfert - Chair
 * Ross Bevevino
 * Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr.
 * Alan Guarino
 * Nicolas Howard
 * Clark S. Judge
 * William Miller
 * Jenny Singer
 * Frank Swain
 * Paul Wright

Funding
In 2007, the American Legislative Exchange Council, set up a sister charity also known as Atlantic Bridge, which then funded the UK arm of Atlantic Bridge with £28,528 over the past four years, accounts show. Other sources of funding for the UK branch originated from the pro-Israeli lobbying organizations and their billionaire backers. Michael Hintze a hedge fund operator, lists as having provided half the funding for TAB. Poju Zabludowicz the real estate/arms dealing billionaire and pro-Israel hawk also provided funding. Mick Davis the CEO of Xstrata Corp, a mining company, also funded TAB via the Pargav company set up by Adam Werritty.

Scandal and Dissolution
The activities of the charity were suspended due to allegations that it promoted "Conservative Party policies in defiance of regulation." The Charity Commission determined that "the activities of the charity have not furthered any of its other charitable purposes in any way." Then, On September 31, 2011 Atlantic Bridge dissolved in light of a scandal involving former British Defense Secretary Liam Fox. Fox's longtime friend Adam Werritty had been operating the so-called "charity" within Fox's own offices. Werrity was allowed by Fox to attend "18 foreign trips and arranged at least one meeting for him, despite having no official government or Conservative Party role," which constituted a serious violation of Britain's ministerial code of conduct. Lobbying firms linked to Werrity received compensation for setting up a meeting between Fox and Werrity's clients. Werrity even distributed a business card "embossed with Parliament's logo that described him as an adviser to Fox." Fox was forced to resign as a result of these revelations on October 14, 2011.

Contact
URL: http://theatlanticbridgeusa.com

Resources and articles

 * ALEC Ties Bring Down British Defense Secretary, Threaten Prime Minister David Cameron
 * ALEC Tied to British Political Scandal

Related Sourcewatch

 * Gabrielle Bertin - former equity trader at BNPParibas who works as a researcher for Liam Fox but is funded by Pfizer. She also does occasional work for Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein.
 * Patrick Minford - Professor of Economics, Daily Telegraph columnist.

External Articles
http://www.stephennewton.com/tag/atlantic-bridge/
 * 'Adviser' Adam Werritty ran charity from Liam Fox's office
 * Jonathon Blakeley, Atlantic Bridge, Liam Fox, Adam Werritty &amp; Israel, 9 October 2011.
 * Jamie Doward, Liam Fox's Atlantic Bridge linked top Tories and Tea Party activists, The Guardian, 15 October 2011.
 * Atlantic Bridge and the climate skeptic connection
 * Charity Commission faces judicial review over Atlantic Bridge
 * Fox: What we know. What we don't know. What we need to know
 * The lessons of Atlantic Bridge http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/16/lessons-atlantic-bridge-questioning
 * BBC Newsnight feature on the Atlantic Bridge 13 October 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrwZSk90PAM&feature=youtu.be