But in recent decades the small Middle Eastern state of Qatar has been transformed by its fabulous wealth from oil.
Indeed, in terms of income per citizen it is now the richest country in the world. So great is its affluence that the Qatari government can provide electricity free to every household, while petrol costs just 15p per litre.
But Qatar is not content just to enjoy the trappings of its wealth at home. With its financial muscle the Arab nation has become a major player on the global stage. And nowhere has the impact of that power been felt more keenly than in Britain.
Qatar might be only the size of Belgium with a population a quarter of London’s but its colossal economic strength has enabled it to take over vast swathes of our commercial life. Property, airports, retail firms and utilities in the UK have all fallen to the might of this monarchy, whose enthusiasm for buying up trophy assets abroad is matched by its determination to maintain authoritarian Islamic rule at home.
What we are witnessing is a complete reversal of Britain’s historic relationship with Qatar. From 1916 until 1971 the country was part of the British Empire, governed as a colonial protectorate under the rule of the Emir. But today, indebted, weakened Britain has to submit to the financial imperialism of Qatar.
That deepening economic subservience to our former territory was graphically illustrated again this week by two events. The first was the announcement that the Qatari royal family is planning a large investment in the controversial £50billion HS2 rail link, focused on a major new station and housing scheme in central Birmingham.
The second was the news that the Qatar Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is soon to table a new bid to take over Songbird Estates which owns the iconic Canary Wharf tower in east London, one of the best-known modern symbols of British capitalism.
THE Qatar Investment Authority, which already has a 28.6 per cent stake in Song- bird, had submitted a previous takeover bid. This was rejected by Songbird’s board on the grounds that it “significantly undervalued” the company but, as the imminent new offer shows, there is no stop- ping Qatari ambition.
Over recent years the infrastructure of Britain has been increasingly regarded as a huge retail emporium by the emirate. So Qatar now owns the Shard, the London skyscraper which, among its 72 storeys, houses the English- language version of the Qatari-run Al-Jazeera Arab news channel.
In addition the Qataris own Harrods, bought for £1.5billion in 2010, as well as Chelsea Barracks, the Olympic Village and had an interest in One Hyde Park, the world’s most expensive block of flats. The Qatari government also has major shares in the Shell Centre, the former Commonwealth Institute building and Camden Market.
But London property is only part of this sprawling empire. The Qataris have a 26 per cent stake in Sainsburys and own 20 per cent of the London Stock Exchange.
They are the biggest shareholders in Barclays bank and in August 2012 bought a 20 per cent stake in Heathrow, which also owns airports at Glasgow, Southampton and Aberdeen. Last year, in their characteristic spirit of dependency, the British Government opened talks with Qatar about the potential investment of up to £10billion in transport schemes, the new Thames “super-sewer” through London and even in energy plants, including nuclear power stations. But Qatar is already gaining an increasingly strong grip on our energy supplies.
The country is by far the biggest supplier to Britain of liquefied natural gas, accounting for around 85 per cent of our imports of this type of energy. The Government pretends to see nothing wrong with this. Last October, when Centrica signed a £4.4billion deal for the Gulf state to provide three million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Britain, the then industry minister Michael Fallon hailed Qatar as a “reliable” supplier. His words go to the heart of the problem.
What the Government likes to describe as an investment is in reality an increasing surrender of control to an Islamic power that has no understanding of British values or western traditions of freedom and plurality. By this accelerating process of sell-offs to Qatar, our Government is making us increasingly vulnerable to a state that has a dismal record on democracy, human rights and the fight against extremism. While our Ministers might fawn and beg before Mammon, the fact is that Qatar is a profoundly authoritarian Muslim theocracy.
For almost two centuries the country has been ruled in absolutist fashion by the al-Thani family. The current emir, Harrow and Sandhurst- educated Hamad Al-Thani, succeeded to the throne last June on the abdication of his father. Maintaining the absolutism of his predecessors he continues to outlaw all political parties and govern according to sharia principles, which means that women are treated as second-class citizens and gays can face the death penalty.
Foreign imported labour to Qatar is treated abominably, deprived of legal rights, decent pay and even passports. Western politicians love to blather about their commitment to non- discrimination but their supposed moral integrity falls apart when places like Qatar start flashing the cash, as has been demonstrated by the award of major international sports events to the Gulf state.
The ShardGETTY
Qatar also own the Shard
JUST like the purchase of British assets, the drive by Qatar to become a top venue is part of the campaign to enhance its global status. “Money is no object – whatever it costs,” explained one official from the Qatar Athletics Federation. That strategy is working.
This week it was announced that Qatar is to host the World Athletics Championship in 2019, following the decision by Fifa to hold the World Cup there in 2022, a move that smacks of hypocrisy because of Qatar’s sorry human rights record and has led to allegations of corruption.
Even more serious is the charge that Qatar is being deeply duplicitous over jihadism: on one hand lending nominal support to the campaign by the international coalition against the extremists from such groups as Islamic State, on the other giving clandestine encouragement and even funds to the Sunni militants.
There is no doubt that because of their attachment to a reactionary Muslim ideology, elements in the Qatari regime have been sympathetic to the radicals’ cause, especially in the battle against President Assad in Syria and in backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Qatar has even given state protection to such figures as the infamous Sheikh Yusuf al-Quaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who has called for suicide attacks on “infidels”. As the Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has said, it is “extraordinary” that Britain “continues to do business with a country” that provides our Islamic enemies with “indirect but substantial support.
It is time we took a much tougher line.” He is right. Our Government’s craven posture towards Qatar is not only promoting an Islamic caliphate by proxy but is contributing to our own national humiliation.
