Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. TotalEnergies faces accusations it failed to protect British subcontractor Philip Mawer, killed in a 2021 Islamist insurgent attack in Mozambique. A coroner in England will examine Mawer's death while overseeing housing construction for the French energy group's $20bn LNG project.

Militants ambushed a convoy, killing several including Mawer, whose vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The Mawer family alleges TotalEnergies failed to provide adequate security for subcontractors outside its compound, despite protecting its own site and evacuating direct employees after earlier threats. Lawyers contend the company refused to supply fuel for extraction helicopters.

Mawer, country manager for RA International, raised security concerns as early as September 2020. His family claims subcontractors were urged to return to work in early 2021 despite unease about a forthcoming attack. TotalEnergies previously denied wrongdoing, stating it evacuated hundreds of subcontractors and supported Mozambican government rescue efforts.

The scope of the inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court remains a point of contention, with the family filing a recusal application against coroner Jason Pegg. French judges are investigating claims filed in a French court in 2023. Alex Perry, author of Blood Will Flow, says the implications are hard to overstate and could change the behaviour of large multinational companies operating overseas.