Mark Drakeford’s controversial trip to watch Wales at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds, it has been revealed. A Freedom of Information request (FOI) submitted by the Welsh Liberal Democrats has outlined that Mr Drakeford’s visit, alongside economy minister Vaughan Gething, is projected to cost £13,007 in public money.
There were calls long before the tournament started for Welsh Government figures to boycott Qatar over concerns about the country’s human rights record, its treatment of migrant workers who built the stadiums used in the World Cup and stance on LGBTQ+ rights, with homosexuality illegal in the country.
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price criticised Mr Drakeford’s trip before the tournament got under way last month. He referenced a comment from former Qatari international footballer Khalid Salman, now a public face of the World Cup in Qatar, who said homosexuality was a “damage in the mind”. Mr Price asked if the First Minister would be reconsidering his visit in light of those comments, with Mr Drakeford going ahead with the planned trip after the Welsh Government stressed that it “condemns these shameful comments and stands in solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities everywhere”.
