The Qatari government spent nearly £440,000 buttering up British MPs in the decade leading up to the World Cup by hosting them in the repressive gulf state, openDemocracy can reveal.
Over the last ten years, MPs have made at least 78 trips to Qatar that were funded by the country’s Foreign Ministry or its embassy in London, including 15 trips costing nearly £76,000 in 2022 and 23 trips costing more than £173,000 in 2021.
The country’s guests have included Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi, backbencher Rory Stewart and Labour’s Chris Bryant.
