OIL giant Shell hatched plans for a secret Cold War propaganda unit in an attempt to maintain Western control over global oil supplies, historical documents revealed today.

Research by Declassified UK found that in 1960 the company commissioned a report, authored by Sir George Sinclair, into “communist efforts to disrupt the operations of major oil companies” across the developing world and what private industry should do about it.

Mr Sinclair received “the greatest help from Her Majesty’s Government and from Shell, not only in London but also … in many countries overseas,” and collaborated with Britain’s intelligence service, the publication said.

In his final report, Mr Sinclair warned that communist activities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America had serious “implications for Western oil interests” and attached a secret appendix, detailing plans for a private industry-funded propaganda unit designed to defend the West’s share of the global energy market.

The unit would be funded by Britain’s leading oil, banking and pharmaceutical companies, and engage in covert information operations across the developing world.

Its annual budget would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It is not clear if the proposal was in part or fully implemented, or whether the campaign was successful.

The full report can be found on Declassifeduk.org