Labour MPs receive more in hospitality from Middle East than unions – analysis

Labour MPs received almost £150,000 in hospitality from Middle Eastern governments and organisations last year, eclipsing support offered by trade unions, LabourList can reveal.

Analysis of 2025 submissions to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests found that 21 Labour MPs accepted flights, accommodation, food and tickets for conferences and entertainment from four Middle Eastern nations, with a combined value of £142,621.

The figure includes hospitality offered by foreign governments or organisations with direct links to them, rather than any UK-based advocacy groups.

By comparison, affiliated and non-affiliated trade unions gave £141,340 to Labour MPs in the form of donations, support, and hospitality last year.

Accepting hospitality in the form of accommodation, flights or tickets to conferences is not against Parliamentary rules. However, many Labour figures, including the Prime Minister, have criticised some of the governments’ record on human rights.

Qatar’s government was found to have offered the most in hospitality to Labour MPs, with a total of £72,641. More than £60,000 of that amount was linked to facilitating MPs’ attendance of the annual Doha Forum, with some meeting Qatari ministers to “discuss Qatar’s role in seeking to resolve current regional conflicts”.

The event, which featured speakers including Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is sponsored by the Qatari state – with hospitality offered to MPs from the Doha Forum itself as well as the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although Keir Starmer has praised Qatar for its “leading mediation role” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, he hit out at the country’s human rights record when Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022.

The revelation comes after Portland Communications, founded by the Prime Minister’s communications chief Tim Allan, was accused of changes to Wikipedia pages to improve Qatar’s image around the time of the contest.

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Saudi Arabia was found to have offered £61,765 in hospitality to Labour MPs in 2025, covering costs for visits to the nation to meet Saudi ministers, members of the royal family and members of the Shura Council.

Alongside these visits, paid for by the nation’s embassy or the government itself, was a ticket to a boxing match in London from Riyadh Season – a series of entertainment and sporting events organised by the Saudi government.

Two other nations, Jordan and Bahrain, offered hospitality amounting to £5,700 and £2,515 respectively to allow for visits to meet the King of Jordan, alongside Jordanian ministers and representatives, and for a trip to the Bahraini capital for the Manama Dialogue, an annual global security and geopolitical conference.

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