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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Michael Safi

UK ambassador to Yemen took part in opening of Jordanian cigarette factory

Michael Aron
‘I accept it was a mistake’ to attend the event, said Michael Aron. Photograph: Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images

A UK ambassador took part in the opening ceremony of a Jordanian cigarette factory part-owned by British American Tobacco (BAT) and praised the new facility in a televised interview, in the latest example of British diplomats breaching strict guidelines against mixing with the tobacco industry overseas.

The envoy stood at the ribbon as it was cut and later appeared in promotional material on the tobacco company’s website, but no record of his presence at the event was kept by the British embassy in Amman because the event was not considered a “formal meeting”.

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