Stand up and be counted: Scots MPs urged to speak out over regime’s human rights record after all-expenses trips to Qatar
MPs who have recently enjoyed all-expenses trips to Qatar were yesterday urged to stand up and be counted in the run-up to the World Cup and question the regime’s failure to protect the rights of workers and minorities.
In the last 13 months, six Scottish MPs have gone to the
Gulf state on parliamentary fact-finding visits paid for by Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lasting six days and worth more than £42,000.
Human rights campaigner
Nicholas McGeehan said: “Anybody accepting trips like that has to be careful not to fall into the trap of effectively being part of a public relations campaign designed to promote Qatar’s reputation.”
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell, vice-chair of the
Qatar all-party parliamentary group, accepted hospitality worth £7,473 from Qatar for a trip in October last year.
In a speech at Westminster last month, responding to another MP raising LGBT rights in Qatar, the Conservative MP said critics should “focus their energies
on the handling of LGBT issues in professional football in the UK”. A spokesman said: “David is a consistent supporter of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across the world.”
SNP MP Angus MacNeil accepted hospitality worth £7,767 from Qatar for a trip last October. He spoke in the House of Commons in September about Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Qatar.
The Western Isles MP did not respond for comment.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross accepted hospitality worth £7,856 from Qatar for a trip in October last year. The Moray MP said of his trip: “We had a number of discussions, which included raising concerns over the country’s human rights and LGBT abuses.”
SNP MP Martyn Day accepted hospitality worth £8,023 from Qatar for a trip last October. The Linlithgow and East Falkirk said: “I am working to encourage things to move quicker in the right direction in Qatar, including workers’ rights reform.”
Labour MP Ian Murray accepted hospitality worth £7,602 from Qatar for a trip in October last year. The Edinburgh South MP said: “Dozens of construction workers have been killed putting this tournament on
and we would be doing them a huge disservice if we didn’t use the World Cup to campaign for greater workers’ rights.”
SNP MP Lisa Cameron, also a vice-chair of the Qatar allparty parliamentary group, accepted hospitality worth £3,865 from Qatar for a trip in February.
The East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow MP said: “I was particularly keen to highlight concerns about workers’ rights, health and safety alongside improved living conditions.”