When International Trade Secretary Liam Fox celebrated the “shared values” between the UK and the Philippines on a visit to the country last year, his comments were met with outrage from human rights activists. President Rodrigo Duterte's regime has killed as many as 12,000 people in a drug war, while Duterte personally has boasted about ordering the arrests of his critics.
Now the New Statesman can reveal that Fox's words were followed up with action.
Six months after the minister's visit, the British government offered the Philippines materials for “urban warfare” and “cyber security”, despite Duterte's drug war being known for targeting the urban poor.
