Spotlight asks Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists to investigate lobbying for Qatar freeports

Spotlight on Corruption has written to the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists to call for an investigation in light of questions raised by a recent press report about Global Counsel lobbying the UK government on behalf of the state-backed Qatar Free Zones Authority.

Following confirmation that an investigation is now underway, George Havenhand, a Senior Legal Researcher with Spotlight on Corruption, said:

“Serious questions remain unanswered, like why this lobbying operation was not publicly recorded on the register and whether that’s a consequence of fundamental defects in our system for lobbying transparency. This investigation should shed much-needed light on what happened and may bring into focus reforms needed to improve the system.”