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Qatar has spent extra money on presents and journeys for British MPs previously yr than another nation, based on Observer evaluation that reveals the Gulf state’s lobbying efforts forward of subsequent month’s soccer World Cup.
The Qatari authorities made presents to members of parliament value £251,208 within the 12 months to October 2022, together with luxurious resort stays, business-class flights and tickets to horse-racing occasions.
The worth of Qatar’s presents was larger than the quantity spent by the 15 different international locations whose governments made donations to British MPs mixed. And it was greater than six instances the £37,661 in presents and hospitality given to MPs by the United Arab Emirates, the second-highest overseas authorities donor.
The presents for the previous 12 months additionally far outstripped these from Qatar in another yr for which data can be found, revealing how authorities ramped up efforts to appeal British MPs forward of the World Cup. Information present MPs declared about £100,000 value of presents and hospitality from Qatar within the 5 years to October 2021, however greater than double that within the final 12 months alone.
Transparency Worldwide stated it was “extraordinarily regarding” that MPs have been accepting “1000’s of kilos value of hospitality from overseas governments with questionable human rights data” and that this might “go away the door open to undue affect.” There is no such thing as a suggestion that any MP broke guidelines, nonetheless.
The Qatari authorities failed to reply to repeated requests for remark.
In some circumstances, MPs who obtained freebies later appeared to talk favourably about Qatar in parliamentary debates, or to deflect consideration away from points that the authorities have been eager to downplay.
Throughout a debate about preparations for the World Cup earlier this month, Alun Cairns, who chairs a casual parliamentary group set as much as “foster good relations between the UK and Qatar”, made a speech praising Qatar, together with “paying tribute” to its response to the humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan.
Cairns, Tory MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, initiated the talk on 20 October and later shared movies of it on Twitter alongside a Nelson Mandela quote: “Sport has the facility to alter the world.”
Information present he obtained £9,323 value of donations from the Qatari authorities in 2022, for a five-day journey in February to fulfill officers alongside different members of the Qatar all-party parliamentary group (APPG), and for a visit a month later to attend the Doha Discussion board coverage occasion.
The APPG’s deputy chair, David Mundell, who accepted hospitality value £7,473 from Qatar for a visit final October, additionally contributed to the talk, responding to a priority raised by one other MP about LGBTQ rights in Qatar by saying critics ought to “focus their energies on the dealing with of LGBT points in skilled soccer within the UK” – “Reasonably than merely level out points which may come up in different international locations, we nonetheless must concentrate on points at house,” he stated.
Mundell, who was the primary brazenly homosexual Conservative cupboard minister, additionally gave an interview to Qatar’s state-run company this yr wherein he criticised “baseless” media protection a few report into Qatar’s file on employee rights. He didn’t point out the Worldwide Labour Group’s discovering that “regardless of milestones being reached” on employee rights in Qatar, there have been “gaps in implementation”, nor its previous analysis which discovered that fifty staff in Qatar misplaced their lives in 2020 alone, with over 500 severely injured and 37,600 struggling delicate to average accidents.
Each MPs referred to their declared pursuits throughout the parliamentary debate. Mundell didn’t reply to requests for remark. A press release from the Qatar APPG, offered through Cairns, stated the group performed an “lively position in scrutinising all features of UK-Qatar relations, together with human rights, ethics, training, power and infrastructure”.
Particulars of Qatar’s donations have been revealed by way of evaluation of declarations within the MPs register of pursuits. The data present 34 MPs declared 40 donations from Qatar within the yr to October 2022. Of these, 22 MPs have been Tory, seven have been Labour, three have been SNP and two have been unbiased.
A lot of the cash was spent on journeys to Qatar for members of the Qatar APPG to fulfill ministers and authorities officers.
Throughout two journeys, in October 2021 and February 2022, British MPs travelled to Qatar to debate points together with “preparations for the World Cup, staff’ rights reform and bilateral relations”, in addition to Qatar’s “humanitarian and political response to the Afghanistan disaster”, transparency logs present.
The Qatari Ministry of International Affairs paid for the all-inclusive visits, usually spending £7,000 to £8,000 per individual for flights, resorts and meals throughout a seven-day journey.
A supply instructed the Observer that MPs on one journey have been put up in luxurious resorts with “huge swimming swimming pools” and travelled enterprise class on Qatar Airways. Some MPs have been taken to a camel-racing occasion and had a personal dinner with officers concerned within the supply of the Fifa World Cup.
They stated that MPs gave officers “two barrels value” over points, together with LGBTQ rights, however that they have been “slick and charming” and their objective was clear: “To enhance Qatar’s repute on the planet.”
“Specifically, they needed to minimise the criticism of their position within the World Cup,” the supply stated. “I got here again equally important. Perhaps a pair would have been extra sympathetic.”
The APPG didn’t touch upon the claims that officers got luxurious therapy or say which authorities officers MPs met with throughout the journeys, however stated visits “embody conferences with a variety of ministers and NGOs, together with the UN Sponsored Worldwide Labour Group”.
Qatar’s Ministry of Tradition and Sports activities, in the meantime, paid for 2 MPs to attend the Qatar-sponsored Goodwood competition in Sussex in July, based on the transparency data. The MPs have been Sir John Whittingdale OBE, the Conservative MP and former tradition secretary, who took a plus one and declared the reward as being value £1,200, and Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley. It was the third donation for Evans from Qatar in 9 months. Neither Whittingdale nor Evans responded to requests for remark.
The findings will gasoline issues about tried backdoor lobbying by overseas governments within the UK. Different international locations which have made donations to MPs previously 12 months embody Bahrain, Somaliland, Azerbaijan, San Marino and Kuwait. Lobbying by China and Russia has beforehand been uncovered.
Rose Whiffen, from Transparency Worldwide, stated “too many MPs” have been exhibiting “poor judgment” in accepting presents from abroad administrations. She added that they have to “critically think about whether it is applicable to just accept these types of journeys – not simply whether or not they’re allowed to.” Chris Bryant, Labour MP and chair of the Commons Committee on Requirements, has warned that parliament is “significantly weak” to overseas affect, saying throughout a debate in December that “we must be cognisant of the hazard {that a} overseas energy may be searching for to foyer … by way of the again door.”
Bryant is among the MPs who accepted a donation in sort from Qatar within the type of an expenses-paid journey however instructed parliament in Could that he regretted doing so. He has advocated for US-style guidelines which bar members of Congress from accepting donations and presents from overseas governments. All visits overseas are paid for by Congress.
Relations between the UK and Qatar have strengthened lately. In Could, the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, introduced a “strategic funding partnership”, which can see Qatar put money into key sectors of the UK economic system over the following 5 years, together with fintech, life sciences and cybersecurity. Downing Avenue stated the deal would create new UK jobs and was value as much as £10bn.
Days later, the Ministry of Defence introduced it could be funding counter-terrorism coaching for Qatar’s navy forward of the World Cup. All through the match, the RAF and Royal Navy will present air and sea help.
Final week, overseas secretary James Cleverly was criticised after telling homosexual soccer followers they need to be respectful in Qatar, which criminalises their sexuality, when attending the World Cup.
Talking on LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast present, he advised they present “a bit of little bit of flex and compromise” and be “respectful of the host nation”. Labour referred to as the feedback “shockingly tone-deaf”.
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