Former UK Middle East minister accused of breaching transparency rules in Bahrain advisory role

Conservative Lord Tariq Ahmad denies contact while in office with King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence

A former UK Middle East minister has been accused of breaching transparency rules over a paid advisory role with an influential Bahraini centre that has links to the Gulf state’s government.

The Conservative peer Tariq Ahmad, who denies wrongdoing, was cleared by a watchdog to take up his role as a paid adviser to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence (KHC).