Revealed: Gulf payments to British MPs

By Shane McGinley
  • Tuesday, 8 January 2013 10:29 AM
  • Share via facebook
  • Tweet this
  • Bookmark and Share

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Miliband, brother of the current leader of the UK opposition party, together accounted for more than half the expenses, fees and gifts paid by Gulf companies and governments to British Members of Parliament, according to the latest parliamentary report by the House of Commons.

The UK House of Commons’ Register of Members' Interests showed Gordon Brown, who served as British prime minister from June 2007 to May 2010, was paid $263,678 for four speeches in the Gulf, two in Qatar and one each in the UAE and Kuwait.

Ranked second on the list of highest paid sitting MPs was David Miliband, a former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and brother of the current leader of the UK Labour Party, who was paid $229,518 to act as a foreign affairs advisor to the UAE government and for a trip to a conference in Doha.

In total, Gulf companies and governments shelled out £548,673 (US$$881,744) to British MPs between December 2011 and December 2012, the latest parliamentary report revealed.

The UAE was the largest donor or debtor, accounting for 70 percent of payments. Saudi Arabia paid for a dozen MPs to travel out for overseas diplomatic and trade trips, while Qatar accounted for 10 international trips by Westminster parliamentarians. Kuwait ranked further down with two payments, while Bahrain only accounted for a single donation.

In general, these payments were for expenses or used for administration costs and not paid directly to MPs. For example, Brown states that he did not personally receive any money from the speeches he undertook and the payments were “held by the Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown for the employment of staff to support [his] ongoing involvement in public life.”

MPs must also reveal any gifts or donations they receive, for example, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw reported he and five others were given an upgrade to Business Class by Emirates Airways for a flight from Dubai to Heathrow last year, which was worth nearly US$20,000.

See the list of the 30 largest payments made to UK MPs by Gulf companies and governments in the last year.

Related:

Stories

Dubai ruler in top ten most followed leaders on Twitter

Saudi "insulted" by UK diplomatic review - report

Qatar's Harrods hires wife of former PM

British politicians to be quizzed over Middle East arms deals

UAE growth forecast to touch 4% in 2013

Galleries
Labour conference focuses on leader's speech

Labour conference focuses on leader's speech

Also in Politics & Economics

Jordan's king makes new plea to solve Syrian crisis

Palestinian president urges investment to boost economy

Also in UAE

Education, jobs must be MidEast priority - UAE min

Work set to start on $47m Abu Dhabi bus depot

Join the Discussion

Disclaimer:The view expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by Arabian Business, its employees, sponsors or its advertisers.

Please post responsibly. Commenter Rules

Posted by: Laura Wednesday, 9 January 2013 11:33 AM[UAE] - United Kingdom

The sentence starting 'In general....' is important - most of these 'payments' will have actually covered the flight, accommodation and subsistence of an MP whilst visiting the region on an official Parliamentary visit. The very fact that MPs have declared these costs on the House of Commons Register of Members Interests shows they are being transparent. These visits build understanding between the UK and the respective countries. I'd personally prefer our foreign policy to be based on understanding from real experience of the Middle East rather than from reading half truths in misleading newspaper articles in Westminster.......

Posted by: Telcoguy Wednesday, 9 January 2013 1:17 PM[UAE] - UAE

How you dare read the article before giving a purely emotional opinion?
Tabloid-driven policies are much more fun!
Seriously kudos to someone bothering to read and understand what has been published, unfortunately most of the people do not realize how little $300,000 really is when you start involving international travel and they just can think that is 2x or 3x my salary

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Thamir Ghaslan Wednesday, 9 January 2013 11:29 AM[UAE] - Saudi Arabia


So when can we run our own western puppets?

You know, the same way Israel lobbies puppeteers the US, and the US puppeteered former Arab dictators?

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Peter Cooper Tuesday, 8 January 2013 5:33 PM[UAE] - United Arab Emirates

What a waste of money! In the UK they might be paid that amount to keep quiet. Their financial advice is particularly unwelcome!

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Black Gold Tuesday, 8 January 2013 5:32 PM[UAE] - UK

Good to see Gordon Brown raking in the cash rather than working for his constituents. He's got a long way to go before he catches up with fellow socialist brother Tony Blair however.

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Mark Tuesday, 8 January 2013 2:33 PM[UAE] - Arg

Expenses - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????

Most of us - not all, do not earn that much or half of that even in a whole year.

Transparancy - Accountability - Do they practice that?

Reply to this comment.

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

All comments are subject to approval before appearingTerms and conditions

Further reading

Get E-Mail Alerts

Arabian Business Power 500 2013 - Top 5 from Kuwait »

Mohammed Alshaya  Ibrahim Dabdoub  Bader Al Kharafi  Marwan Boodai  Sheikha Al Bahar 
View complete list
Features & Analysis
Back to the boom?

Back to the boom?

All the Gulf economies are now back on a strong growth curve...

Time in the sun?

Time in the sun?

Turkish government debt is falling, and foreign direct investment...

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Light at the end of the tunnel?

The rise of Salafist-Jihadist domestic activities is threatening...

Most Popular
Most Discussed
  • 34
    Are there too many Brits in the UAE?

    Could you imagine what would happen if a large proportion of the educated, professional worker population suddenly left (let alone the domestic workers... more

    Friday, 24 May 2013 1:26 PM - Khalid
  • 9
    Euro leagues could challenge Qatar 2022 in court

    I was in Qatar yesterday and I had a good chuckle to myself about it all. There are three possible outcomes - all of which will be a monumental mess. ... more

    Thursday, 23 May 2013 3:35 PM - Steve
  • 5
    Kuwait's traffic chief defends expat deportations

    Sadly, The cops don't even understand English & they are not willing to listen to anything. They do as they like, It is my wish that wherever the citizens... more

    Friday, 24 May 2013 6:02 PM - Expat in Kuwait
Read all user comments »
  • 45
    Dubai labourers stage rare strike for more pay

    As much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more

    Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty Say
  • 34
    Are there too many Brits in the UAE?

    Could you imagine what would happen if a large proportion of the educated, professional worker population suddenly left (let alone the domestic workers... more

    Friday, 24 May 2013 1:26 PM - Khalid
  • 28
    Bahrain MPs vote to ban pork in kingdom

    If one wants to visit or live in Bahrain one must abide by the laws. Living without pork is no huge sacrifice. Muslim and Jewish nations subscribe to this... more

    Saturday, 25 May 2013 6:05 PM - Jeffrey Kershaw
Read all user comments »
Read all user comments »