The humiliating fall of Bell Pottinger is a cautionary tale for PR firms the world over

In the end, the PR firm was found to be lacking in both foresight and, more importantly, ethical fortitude

Activists dressed as animals invaded the PR firm Bell Pottinger in central London in April Pic: Getty

There’s no spinning this one away. The London-based PR firm Bell Pottinger once boasted of being “a leading integrated, international reputation management agency”. Now its own reputation may well be damaged irreparably.

It has been expelled from British industry body the Public Relations and Communications Association, which determined that work it had done for Oakbay Capital, an investment vehicle for the South Africa-based Gupta family, had “exploited racial divisions” in the country.

As ...