Britain pledged millions of pounds to support the leaders of a lawless region of Somalia despite knowing that they had links to pirate gangs, cables show.
Foreign Office officials surprised their US counterparts by announcing a “180-degree shift” in British policy towards the north-eastern region of Puntland, whose leaders declared independence in 1998.
Jonathan Allen, the Foreign Office diplomat responsible for East Africa, told the Americans in July, 2009, that Britain planned to support the regional government despite being “under no illusion about who they were dealing with and the connection of the Puntland authorities to piracy”.
The Foreign Office changed course after the president of Puntland met officials in London and “said all the right things” on issues such as maritime security, Mr Allen admitted.
The new policy of engagement was expanded in January, 2010, when British diplomats disclosed that a portion of a £9 million grant for Somalia had been earmarked to support authorities in Puntland and Somaliland, another self-declared state.
Britain previously refused to recognise the autonomy of either region but had come to the conclusion that weak local institutions were hampering efforts to tackle terrorism and illegal immigration.
Source: The Telegraph
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