The British government’s trade summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden at its helm, has come under fire for allegedly facilitating networking for corporations linked to high-profile Conservatives. This group includes Tory elders and Ben Elliot, a former party chair.
The Great Futures campaign, a government-sanctioned initiative to boost British-Saudi trade relations, was the focus of Dowden’s visit to Riyadh. This, despite the Gulf nation’s checkered human rights record. Accompanying Dowden on the trip with the 450-strong British delegation was Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, while Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch partook in separate trade talks in the Saudi capital. Chancellor Rishi Sunak offered his endorsement of the summit via a recorded video message.
Constituting the UK delegation were three esteemed Conservative members – all tied to companies making appearances at the summit in Riyadh. These included Jo Johnson, ex-Education Minister and present chair of education firm FutureLearn; Philip Hammond, erstwhile Chancellor and current chair at urban development company Innovo, a summit supporter; and Eddie Lister, Boris Johnson’s past chief of staff, who occupies an unpaid directorship at the Saudi British Joint Business Council and works for two of its members.
Photos from the summit show Johnson, who also happens to be a Tory peer, signing an agreement with a Saudi entity as a representative of FutureLearn. He also participated in a panel discussion on the summit’s main stage. Lister was another speaker at a summit event centered around infrastructure.
Also taking center stage was Hammond, who hosted a spread on behalf of the Saudi British Joint Business Council, where he serves as an advisory board member sans remuneration. Trade Minister and Conservative peer Dominic Johnson attended the event alongside Hammond.
The lack of openness regarding the event elicited criticism from campaign groups. “The attendance of several party veterans at the Riyadh summit with government backing necessitates comprehensive transparency about the invitees, their reasons for attending, and the accompanying living expenses,” asserted Tom Brake of Unlock Democracy.
Echoing similar sentiments, Rose Whiffen from Transparency International UK emphasized that those in authority should avoid even the illusion of granting access and influence to their companions and benefactors arbitrarily.
Meanwhile, Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, touched upon the seemingly evident conflict of interest, suggesting that Conservatives had “tough interrogations” on the horizon. Labour MP and Foreign Affairs Select Committee member, Fabian Hamilton, questioned Dowden about the possibility of the summit being a platform to boost business avenues for his Conservative allies.
Rubbishing such accusations, Hammond found the slamming of the summit for its Conservative representation to be ludicrous. Hammond clarified that he flew independently and that his role in the Saudi British Business Council was honorary. He added that Innovo was merely one among many supporters of the Great Futures initiative.
Lister shrugged off the criticisms, upholding his mandate to bolster British business in Saudi Arabia and denying any vested interest in the country’s construction sector.
Other attendees from Conservative circles include Ben Elliott, the now ex-chair and fundraiser for Tories, who operates the posh butler service Quintessentially. Present at a Reception he was spotted alongside Frazer and a Saudi tourism minister. Additionally, Amanda Staveley, who co-owns Newcastle United football club with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and is a Conservative donor with robust Middle Eastern investor relations, attended and spoke at the event.
Asked about the association of Conservative-linked businesses with the summit, a government spokesperson mentioned a meticulous and unbiased selection process and insisted on the 450-strong Great Futures cohort comprising entirely of UK businesses. They lauded the summit as aiding in British economic and job growth.
While the summit costs remain undisclosed, the government maintains that returns on such investment usually manifest in fresh monetary infusions for the UK.
