British MPs receive gifts, donations from Qatari institutions

CAIRO – 14 August 2017: A wave of controversy was stirred in Britain over western media’s reports accusing British MPs of receiving expensive gifts and donations from Qatari institutions over the course of the last parliament.

In January, Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve was gifted two watches with a total value of £4,440 ($5,770) by the Qatari government, according to Maidenhead Advertiser.

The bribery accusation was not the first of kind among British MPs, since many others have allegedly accepted tens of thousands of pounds in hospitality from the Gulf state last year, according to an analysis of Parliament’s register of interest.

The granted funds for the suspect MPs registered a total of £172,561 ($224,394) worth of flights, hotels, and other similar gifts from Qatar.

The payments in kind were typically for fact-finding missions arranged and funded by the host regime. 41 junkets were accepted by Conservative MPs, seven by Labour MPs, four by SNP MPs, and one by a Liberal Democrat.

The Qatari donations were considered as an apparent sign of the country ramping up its lobbying and propaganda campaigns ahead of its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The US State Department says foreign workers are routinely subject to forced labour in Qatar, sometimes including prostitution, having had their passports confiscated. Such labour is reportedly being used to construct stadiums for the coming World Cup.

The Independent quoted Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: “MPs should not be taking hospitality from regimes with appalling human rights records. This is lobbying plain and simple. These despots aren’t paying for transport and flashy hotels because they’re nice people, they’re doing it because they want to win friends and buy influence.”

Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise”.

On 5 June, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed economic sanctions, accusing it of funding terrorism, a claim Qatar rejects. They also closed their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation.

The Arab quartet issued 13 demands to Doha – then shortened to six principles - including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran and shutting a Turkish military base.