Shell accused of ignoring pollution evidence in Nigeria
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
British oil giant Shell continued to operate major pipeline in Nigeria even though bosses knew it was causing widespread pollution, according to secret documents obtained by BBC. Shell has always rejected the accusations, blaming the theft and illegal refining of oil taken from the pipeline. Also: the Trump administration drops plans for a fund to compensate people claiming to be victims of politicised prosecution after a backlash from Republicans; Microsoft announces a new quantum chip that it says is 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor; promising results for new cancer pill which caused tumours to shrink by at least 30%; anger in the UK following the case of a student who was murdered and falsely accused of racially abusing his attacker; and could microbes still be living in a body frozen in ice for 5,000 years? The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: Shell sign for pipeline in Bille, southern Nigeria, that's been causing widespread pollution for years. Credit: BBC
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
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| 0:24.3 | You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:29.5 | Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Wednesday, |
| 0:33.5 | the 3rd of June. BBC News finds that Shell pumped oil for years despite knowing it was causing |
| 0:40.0 | widespread pollution. The Trump administration scraps plans for a $1.8 billion fund that critics |
| 0:46.8 | said could give payouts to rioters who attack the US capital. And Microsoft says its new quantum |
| 0:52.7 | computing chip is a thousand times more reliable than its predecessor. |
| 0:58.8 | Also in the podcast. |
| 1:00.5 | This new drug actually switches up proteins on the cancer surface so that the immune system can now see the cancer and can then destroy the cancer cell. |
| 1:11.1 | The pill which has been shown to shrink tumours in six types of cancer. |
| 1:20.1 | But first, the British oil giant shell continued to operate a major pipeline in Nigeria, |
| 1:26.8 | even though bosses knew it was causing widespread pollution, |
| 1:30.2 | according to secret internal documents obtained by the BBC. |
| 1:34.1 | Exchanges between senior executives, disclosed during a legal case, |
| 1:38.3 | showed they understood the risks posed by one of the firm's main pipelines |
| 1:42.0 | to both the local people and the environment, |
| 1:44.8 | yet chose not to shut it down. Shell has always argued that pollution in the Niger Delta |
| 1:50.0 | was caused by the theft and illegal refining of oil taken from the pipeline. |
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