Neither the event with Cambridge Analytica or the #dataisGREAT campaign appear to have gone ahead, but questions will be raised about the eagerness of senior British officials to promote a company whose work has been highly controversial.

At the time, Cambridge Analytica was vigorously trying to capitalise on its involvement with the Trump campaign, touting its supposedly visionary ability to use data to persuade audiences to win new corporate and government clients in the US.

The company seemed to be in a good position to thrive in Trump's Washington, given that the new president's senior adviser Steve Bannon sat on its board and that it had the backing of the powerful Mercer family.

Even so, there were already doubts about the company in American political circles.

In 2015, the Guardian had revealed how Cambridge Analytica was using "psychological profiles" gathered from tens of millions of Facebook users, without the permission of many of them, to help the presidential campaign of Senator Ted Cruz. Some on the Cruz campaign spoke disparagingly about Cambridge Analytica's involvement. And there was scepticism, too, about the company's claims to have made a decisive contribution to Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton.

In March this year, the company imploded. Reports in The Observer and New York Times based on the account of a whistleblower revealed that Cambridge Analytica had "harvested" the data of millions of Facebook users without their permission. An undercover investigation by Channel 4 News filmed the chief executive Alexander Nix claiming credit for Trump's victory and boasting about using dirty tricks to swing foreign elections.

Last month, the london-based data firm announced it would close. It still faces several investigations. In the UK, the Information Commissioner is conducting civil and criminal inquiries. In the US, the Department of Justice and FBI are conducting investigations.

There will be renewed scrutiny in London this week when Nix appears before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. He is expected to face questions about whether he previously lied to parliament.

Whatever doubts existed about Cambridge Analytica's work, the Foreign Office appears to have seen it as a British company that was going places under the new administration.

In December 2016, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Sir Alan Duncan, the minister for Europe and the Americas, met Nix on consecutive days. According to public records, the purpose of these meetings was to discuss Trump's election and "build senior contacts with the transition team".

BuzzFeed News requested documents relating to these meetings, such as minutes or correspondence, but the Foreign Office said it has nothing on record.

However, the Foreign Office did release the email chain between Romeo, Allen and Cambridge Analytica. The names of the Cambridge Analytica staff were redacted to protect their rights under data protection legislation, the Foreign Office said.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, a UK government spokesperson said: "It is the job of our overseas staff to work closely with British businesses to promote UK exports into that country, and to identify investment opportunities that create jobs and prosperity in the UK. These discussions were at an early stage and did not result in any joint work."