Mark Drakeford has no regrets over controversial…

Mark Drakeford has no regrets over controversial five-star World Cup hotel stay paid for by Qatar

First Minister Mark Drakeford has said that he does not regret accepting a free five-star hotel stay in Qatar during the FIFA World Cup, the BBC has reported. It comes after a Freedom of Information (FOI) showed that the Qatar Government paid for the Welsh First Minister to stay at the Ritz-Carlton during his visit to the country as part of his World Cup trip.

The request also revealed the Qatar Government provided the accommodation, board and transport for Mr Drakeford and accompanying officials as part of a hospitality package. Mark Drakeford has now said that he had to take the package for security reasons and could not go to meetings without it.

According to the BBC, the First Minister said: "While it wasn't the way we would have chosen to go to Qatar, it was unavoidable". The First Minister, Minister for Economy Vaughan Gething and four officials stayed in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha for three nights.

The response to the FOI, which was submitted by BBC Wales, says that this hospitality package was offered to all delegates and their travelling parties attending the World Cup. The Ritz Carlton hotel is described on its website as being set on a private island offering a "rich resort experience".

Before the tournament started, there were calls for Welsh Government figures to boycott Qatar over concerns about the country's human rights record, including its treatment of migrant workers, its stance on LGBTQ+ rights and treatment of women. The Welsh Government previously said the trip was intended to strengthen links with Qatar.

Mr Drakeford said he had raised human rights concerns at "every conceivable opportunity" while he was in the country. He told the BBC: "I don't regret it, because it was the only way in which it was possible to discharge the purpose for which I went to Qatar.

"The security regime that surrounded the games simply meant that unless you were prepared to accept the arrangements that were there on the ground, you wouldn't have had physical access to the places where I needed to be [and] the meetings I needed to attend.

Mr Drakeford (centre) speaks to players during a training session at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar. (PA)

"While it wasn't the way we would have chosen to go to Qatar, it was unavoidable, if the visit was to discharge the purposes that were there for it. At every meeting that I attended, whether that was government ministers, businesses, arts organisations, interviews with local media there in Qatar, the issue of human rights, human values, workers' rights - those things were covered in every conceivable opportunity."

It comes after a separate FOI request submitted by the Welsh Liberal Democrats showed that the minister's trip to the country was projected to cost £13,007 in public money. Both the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru had called on Mr Drakeford and Mr Gething to cancel their visit before the tournament got under way in November.

Mr Drakeford's trip to Qatar came despite the fact that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had decided to stay away from the tournament. Uk government ministers also attended the football tournament, including Welsh Secretary David TC Davies, but the BBC reports that it is unclear whether they accepted the same package.

Responding to the BBC question about the UK minister's arrangements, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: "The World Cup was a major international event and it is right that the UK government was represented. Details of the visit will be published in the usual way".