UK parliamentary committee investigates Boston Consulting Group's work in Gaza
A UK parliamentary committee has ordered the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to provide details about its consultancy work on Gaza, as fallout over the US firm's involvement with a controversial US and Israel-backed aid operation continues.
Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of the business and trade committee, has asked BCG CEO Christoph Schweizer to name any clients, partners and organisations involved in BCG's work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Byrne has also requested a detailed timeline of BCG's involvement with GHF and whether any of the firm's work on the potential relocation of Palestinians from Gaza is ongoing or active.
"Given the seriousness of these issues and the high level of public interest, we would appreciate a response by 22 July 2025," Byrne wrote.
He noted the committee's power to "send for persons, papers and records in order to discharge its duties".
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Last week, the Financial Times reported that BCG staff modelled costs to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and entered into a multimillion-dollar contract to help launch the US and Israeli-backed GHF.
It was also reported that BCG became involved with GHF when the US security contractor Orbis engaged the firm to help with a feasibility study for a new aid operation.
BCG was reportedly chosen because of its relationship with Phil Reilly, an ex-CIA officer who works at Orbis and, as Middle East Eye first reported, was a senior advisor for BCG for eight years until just six months ago when he started Safe Reach Solutions, a for-profit security and logistics company guarding GHF's aid hubs in Gaza.
GHF has been beset by controversy since it emerged publicly in May, with the UN and aid organisations warning that its plans to take over aid distribution in Gaza failed to meet humanitarian principles and would encourage the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Gaza health authorities report that more than 700 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed since GHF's aid distribution centres were launched.
GHF told MEE on Thursday that while some of its aid workers had been attacked and injured en route to the sites, there have been "no incidents or fatalities at or in the immediate vicinity" of any of the sites.
BCG has said that it was repeatedly misled on the scope of the work with GHF undertaken by two senior partners in the firm who were fired last month.
Responding to the FT's reporting, Schweizer wrote this week: "BCG never sanctioned the actions you’ve reported on - in fact we rejected the request to take on the work and we disavow it."
He also noted that BCG "has not and will not receive any fees for the work".
The FT has also reported that staff members from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) participated in a post-war Gaza project which included plans for a "Trump Riviera" and used financial models developed inside BCG.
The TBI has said that it neither endorsed nor authored slides referenced in the FT reporting, and that staff members involved in meeting groups were "essentially in listening mode".
A BCG spokesperson said: "We are aware of the request from the House of Commons’ Business & Trade Committee. We are reviewing the request and are committed to responding.”
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