What is it about the British upper classes that they think they can still run roughshod over nation states?
That's precisely what Bell Pottinger — until recently the apparently untouchable purveyor of whatever truth its clients preferred — thought it could do in South Africa when it signed up the Gupta business Oakbay.
This week, the 30-year-old company put itself up for sale. It appeared on the front page of the venerable Financial Times for three days running after it was booted out of the professional association that ensures the self-regulation of more than 20000 UK PR firms.
It also found itself abandoned by one of its anchor shareholders, and a growing number of clients headed for the exit.
BDO, the accounting firm hired to find a buyer, had better be quick. Soon there will be little of value left.
The firm's second-biggest shareholder, Chime, wrote off its 27% stake rather than face the embarrassment of trying to flog it on the open market.Added to the list of South African corporates like Investec, Richemont and Mediclinic that have terminated their business relationships with the firm came a list of UK companies: HSBC, Clydesdale Bank, TalkTalk and building firm Carillion. Hardly surprising with headlines in the City of London screaming: "Bell Rottinger!"
There is blood in the water, and rivals are snapping up talented staff and clients.
I did an interview with Lord Tim Bell this week. His upper-class drawl largely incoherent. His answers succinct to the point of being terse. He claimed he'd warned senior directors that the Oakbay account would put the firm at odds with established South African clients. It suggests, if what Lord Bell says it true, that Bell Pottinger knew what it was being asked to do, before signing the contract.
Also this week, I received e-mail correspondence from Tim Falconer, the MD of Bell Pottinger in Dubai: "This particular client was managed out of London. In fact, the opportunity to assist on the Oakbay account was flatly rejected by Bell Pottinger Middle East."
It implies that former CEO James Henderson knew what was going on.
In the world of public relations, the line between fact and fiction can be blurred to favour the version of the facts society is likely to find the least repugnant.
In the case of Oakbay, the only logical explanation for Bell Pottinger's scope of work was that it should create a smokescreen for looting in state-owned enterprises. It was encouraging this week to see NPA head Shaun Abrahams tell parliament that an investigation into the Gupta e-mails was required. South Africa's response to the mails has been glacial.
As odious as its work was, Bell Pottinger actually did us a favour. We must treat it as "an intervention", in the language of American reality-TV shows.
Bell Pottinger did not invent inequality in South Africa, it certainly did not inflict the considerable wounds left by centuries of white domination of the economy, and it certainly did not fabricate the fact that, 27 years after the release of Nelson Mandela from captivity, your financial status is still largely defined by race-based privilege. It exploited our key vulnerabilities. It's our choice now if we choose to deal with the real issues that make our country a miserable place for at least half the population, who have little chance of being properly educated, trained and employed.
• Whitfield is an award-winning financial journalist and broadcaster
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