UK ex-Middle East minister accused of transparency rule breach over Bahrain advisory role

A UK-based Bahraini human rights group said official advice on Ahmad’s appointment should be reviewed. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

A former UK Middle East minister has been accused of breaching transparency rules over a paid advisory role with an influential Bahraini centre that has links to the Gulf state’s government.

The Conservative peer Tariq Ahmad, who denies wrongdoing, was cleared by a watchdog to take up his role as a paid adviser to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence (KHC).