The World Cup is just three days away and as Westminster prepares to watch the big event, some in SW1 will have a better knowledge than others about the Gulf state. The host nation is expected to spend up to £138 billion on hosting the tournament, with fortunes lavished on new stadia hotels, roads, public spaces and transport. So it’s perhaps no surprise then that the Qataris have been all too keen to show off their country to dozens of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords since they won the bid back in December 2010.
Some 50 sitting MPs including Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi, former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Chris Bryant, the Chairman of the Standards Committee, have accepted a total of more than £300,000 in hospitality, travel and accommodation from Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup. According to the Commons register of interests, expenditure includes stays in luxury hotels, tickets to the ‘Glorious Goodwood’ festival and business-class flights. A further 22 sitting peers have registered similar claims for travel or gifts in the House of Lords since 2010.
Well played lads eh.
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