David Lammy faces possible legal action over Foreign Office secondments

David Lammy said in March that the Foreign Office needed ‘sustained cultural transformation’ to enable it to fully represent the interests of business. Photograph: Lev Radin/Shutterstock

David Lammy is facing possible legal action over a plan to invite staff from the oil firm Shell and the defence firm BAE Systems to work inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

A pre-action letter seen by the Guardian warns the foreign secretary that the scheme leaves the government open to allegations of a conflict of interest and creates the potential for “improper influence”.