The British government is refusing to identify the organisation that paid for a September dinner in Washington, D.C. honouring Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page that was attended by some of the most powerful people in the US Government.

Attendees of the September 19 event, which was held at the taxpayer-funded British ambassador’s residence and co-hosted by the British ambassador to the US, included US Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh along with employees of a major US defence contracting firm.

During the evening, Page gave a rare speech in which he recalled his music career, according to a video of part of the speech posted online by one attendee. “Each album that was done had a purpose in mind for the whole character of it,” Page said of Led Zeppelin during his speech.   

The British government’s decision not to identify the group that paid for the dinner has raised transparency concerns, with one campaign group saying it is “unacceptable” not to disclose the name of the organisation.

In response to a Freedom of Information request made by LedZepNews, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) produced a copy of the dinner invitation but redacted the name of the organisation that co-hosted the evening.

In an accompanying letter, the British government department said the costs of the dinner “were met by the philanthropic organization”, but declined to name the group or any of the people who attended the dinner.

“The guest list included US government officials, and other civil society figures with an interest in the arts and music,” the letter read.

The British government declined to disclose the names of the co-host or any attendees because doing so “would reduce the ability of government to support UK commercial objectives and weaken the UK‟s economic outlook,” it claimed.

In a social media post published the day after the dinner, the British embassy in the US omitted any mention of a co-host for the event, writing that Page “joined Karen Pierce for an event celebrating his and the band’s more than five decades making brilliant British music – and his life of philanthropy.”

The lack of transparency around the dinner and its organisers has alarmed campaigners. Elliot Keck, head of campaigns for the UK-based TaxPayers’ Alliance, told LedZepNews that “Taxpayers will be dismayed at the lack of transparency from the Foreign Office.”

“While events for ambassadors and diplomats have a crucial part to play in maintaining and building international relationships, it is unacceptable to leave the public in the dark about how these events are funded especially if they’re held at taxpayer-funded venues,” Keck continues. “The FCDO must endeavour to be clearer in the future”

Who paid for the dinner?

Social media posts made by Page’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts suggest that the mystery co-host the British government refuses to identify is the Catherine B Reynolds Foundation, a Virginia charity set up in 2001 by philanthropist and entrepreneur Catherine B. Reynolds.

In a November 4 post on Facebook and Instagram, Page wrote that he was “incredibly moved to be honoured by the British Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce, the Catherine B Reynolds Foundation, and the Academy of Achievement at the British Embassy in Washington, on September 19th this year.”

An August 2024 filing made by the foundation with the US Internal Revenue Service shows it had more than $27 million in net assets in the fiscal year ending in September 2023.

The Academy of Achievement, a non-profit organisation run by Reynolds’ husband Wayne Reynolds, claims on its website that Catherine Reynolds personally co-hosted the event alongside the British ambassador.

Who attended the dinner?

The British government has declined to name even a single attendee of the dinner, but the names of many high-profile attendees have been disclosed publicly in social media posts, reporting by US media outlet Politico and the US Department of State’s website.

Along with a number of senior US government officials, the dinner included defence contractor guests such as Alex Karp, the CEO of $141 billion software company Palantir Technologies and a series of his employees.

The presence of defence contractors at a dinner honouring Page may be explained by Reynolds’ position on the board of directors of US defence and aerospace business General Dynamics.

Here’s a list of people known to have attended the dinner:

• US Attorney General Merrick Garland
• US Chief Justice John Roberts
• US Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh
• Senator Peter Welch
• Congressman Michael Turner
• Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell
• Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma
• Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer
• Former senator Bill Frist
• Italian ambassador Mariangela Zappia
• Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti
• Senior Advisor to the President Mike Donilon
• Former Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Brian Hook
• Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp
• Former Social Secretary to the British Ambassador Francesca Craig
• Former Chief of Staff at the Department of Commerce Wendy Anderson
• New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd

LedZepNews contacted the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation for comment.