Qatar has taken “real steps” to protect gay fans at the World Cup, the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has claimed.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Mr Cleverly said he raised the issue with Qatari counterparts and that they knew how seriously Britain takes the issue of LGBT+ rights.
Same-sex relations are illegal in the country and are punishable by prison sentences, or even possibly the death penalty.
Mr Cleverly told the broadcaster: “I've made it clear that we feel very strongly about this issue and actually one of the advantages about having a strong relationship with other countries is you can have these difficult conversations.
“The Qataris know how seriously we take this issue and they have taken real steps to ensure that gay football fans are safe and do feel secure and can enjoy the football.”
He is the most senior British politician to have visited the World Cup so far, which is dogged by controversy over Qatar’s abysmal human rights record.
He was also asked about the wearing of rainbow hats by fans.
Some, including former Wales women’s team captain, Laura McAllister, have reported being told to remove them before entering the stadium by officials.
Ms McAllister later said the behaviour of officials in demanding the hats be removed was “intimidating”.
US football journalist Grant Wahl also reported being stopped and briefly denied entrance to the match between the US and Wales on Monday over a rainbow shirt.
He said that one member of staff told him, “You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed,” while another guard “forcibly ripped my phone from my hands,” as he tweeted about the incident/
“One security guard told me that my shirt was ‘political’ and not allowed,” Mr Wahl said.
Mr Cleverly said that the "rules for what goes on in the stadia” were a matter for the football authorities.
He had previously sparked a row after suggesting earlier this month LGBT football fans who attend the World Cup in Qatar should show “compromise”.
In an LBC interview, he told fans travelling from England and Wales to be “respectful of the host nation”.
Labour had slammed the comments as “shockingly tone deaf”.
