Qatar government have spent £250,000 on gifts for British MPs in last year

British parliamentary members have benefited significantly

Qatar has spent £251,208 on gifts and trips for British MPs in the last 12 months ahead of the World Cup this winter. As revealed by The Observer, the Gulf State have made a significant effort to entice British parliamentary members and has spent more money on them than any other nation. In comparison to other nations, Qatar spent more than six times the £37,661 they spent in gifts and hospitality to MPs by the United Arab Emirates, who were the second-highest foreign government donor. Some of the gifts range from luxury hotels, business-class flights and tickets to events such as horse racing. Transparency International said it was "extremely concerning" that MPs had accepted "thousands of pounds worth of hospitality from foreign governments with questionable human rights records." Some situations saw MPs who had benefitted from gifts going on to portray Qatar in a positive manner during parliamentary debates, or deflect attention away from issues concerning the Gulf State. During one of the debates MP Alun Cairns - who chairs an informal parliamentary group set up to "foster good relations between the UK and Qatar" - was heard praising the nation and "paid tribute" to the way it had handled the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. In the records shown, 34 MPs declared 40 donations from Qatar in the last 12 months. Of those, 22 were conservative, seven were labour, three were SNP and two were independent. Qatar has faced huge backlash in the build up to the tournament over their abhorrent human rights record which includes a ban on same-sex marriage and their treatment of migrant workers. Last week Australia became the first nation competing at the World Cup to publicly condemn Qatar as the squad released a joint-video highlighting the issues in the Gulf State. Related links:

• Australia become first World Cup team to criticise Qatar’s human rights record
• Judge Rinder slams David Beckham for putting ‘money before morals’ over Qatar World Cup
• Denmark players will head to Qatar without families to protest human rights