A Fife MP has faced criticism for going on an overseas trip paid for by the Middle Eastern country where a British student has been jailed.
Stephen Gethins’ £3,000 trip to the United Arab Emirates was funded by the controversial regime’s foreign affairs ministry.
The UAE is embroiled in a row over the life imprisonment of Matthew Hedges on spy charges.
The International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE told the Sunday Mail it is “disgraceful” that Mr Gethins accepted hospitality from “an authoritarian regime who routinely violate the basic rights of those within its borders”.
The SNP said its North East Fife MP, who is also the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, used the trip to raise the party’s “serious concerns about the UAE’s actions in Yemen directly with ministers”.
The spokesman added: “The SNP has long-campaigned against the devastating war in Yemen and will continue to use every avenue available to challenge human rights abuses.
“The UK Government must end its arms sale to these regimes.”
Mr Gethins was the only Scots MP on a cross-party group meeting ministers and attending the World Government summit. Tory MPs David Jones and Leo Docherty were also invited on the February trip.
