Foreign states including repressive regimes pay peers over £3m in two years

Middle East nations among those who have paid 27 members of the Lords for work such as consultancy and legal advice

- Rob Evans

Members of the House of Lords have been paid more than £3m in the last two years by foreign governments including repressive Middle Eastern regimes.

Many of the states paying peers have human rights records that have been highly criticised, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

In total, 27 peers have been paid by foreign states for services including consultancy and legal advice. They include Philip Hammond, the former chancellor and foreign secretary, who has declared payments totalling £816,000 in the last two years from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The findings have drawn criticism from campaigners who say peers should not work for states whose "values on issues such as human rights are at odds with the UK's".

There are no restrictions under the House of Lords rules on members taking up such consultancies provided they declare who they are working for and how much they are being paid.

In general, peers are not required to register the fees they receive for their consultancies and directorships. But in 2021 the Lords tweaked the rules and since then peers have had to declare how much they are paid if they are receiving money from foreign governments or institutions that are, or even appear to be, controlled by foreign states.