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Qatar: what the media isn’t reporting
As the World Cup begins, the British government’s close links with the authoritarian monarchy in Doha and its multimillion-pound arms deals have been carefully placed out of sight, says IAN SINCLAIR

“QATAR struggles to shift focus away from workers’ rights.”

The headline in the Financial Times earlier this month confirms PR-savvy Qatar, hyper-aware of the soft power boost hosting the 2022 football World Cup could be expected to create, is having trouble controlling the narrative.

The British media, and members of the British political elite including Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, have repeatedly drawn attention to the plight of migrant labourers who have built the stadiums in the wealthy Gulf emirate — and also the terrible situation for LGBTQI+ people living there.

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