Bell Pottinger, dumped by clients and peers, sees shareholder walk over South Africa campaign

An office building containing the London headquarters of the PR company Bell Pottinger is seen behind an entrance to an underground train station in London, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - PR agency Bell Pottinger lost its contract with banking giant HSBC and saw its second-biggest shareholder walk away on Tuesday after it was thrown out of an industry body for running a racially-charged campaign in South Africa.

The firm, which provides crisis management to governments and corporations, is now caught up in a scandal of its own because of its campaign, seen as exploiting sensitive race relations to support President Jacob Zuma and his ruling party.