THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Miliband was paid £25,000 to give a speech on relations between the West and the Muslim world, at a conference held in a “luxurious oasis” resort in the Middle East.
The defeated Labour leadership candidate also had his travel and five-star accommodation covered during the three-day trip, partly by the government of the United Arab Emirates, Parliamentary records show.
It suggests that he is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Tony Blair, by turning to the lucrative foreign lecture circuit after leaving frontline politics.
According to the latest Register of Members’ Financial Interests, Mr Miliband was also paid £2,500 to write a newspaper article defending his “dancing naked women” painting, which his wife had bought him for £800 as a birthday present.
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The conference - where “opinion-makers and business leaders” discussed “critical challenges for peace and security in the Middle East” - was held at the five-star Qasr Al Sarab resort in Abu Dhabi.
Its website describes it as a “luxurious oasis” in the “legendary Liwa Desert” where guests can “unwind in the unsurpassed comfort of private, palatial-style villas”.
In his speech, Mr Miliband spoke of the responsibility of Muslim countries to “honour international commitments to human rights, independent courts and press freedoms”, and the need for the European Union to admit Turkey as a member.
Read it all and comment >>> Martin Beckford | Friday, December 10, 2010
