The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, held undisclosed meetings with senior executives of Saudi Arabian firms when he was the business secretary, documents acquired by the Guardian show.
The meetings occurred in January, when Kwarteng visited the kingdom for a two-day trip under his previous ministerial role.
Documents released using the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) show Kwarteng held undisclosed meetings with the chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer; the chief executive of Sabic, the world’s fourth largest petrochemical company; and the chair of Alfanar Group, an industrial conglomerate.
However, transparency disclosures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy did not contain any reference to meetings during the period Kwarteng was in Saudi Arabia when originally published.
While meetings with foreign government figures are not required to be declared, encounters with business executives should be. A government spokesperson said there had been an “administrative oversight”.
Kwarteng was flown around the kingdom by Saudi Aramco, which operates a number of helicopters, jets and airports. The flights provided the opportunity for the oil company to lobby the minister then responsible for the UK’s energy policy, the documents suggest.
Kwarteng’s travel by Aramco aircraft also raises questions about compliance with the ministerial code, which states that offers of free travel “should not normally be accepted. The only exception to this is in the case of an offer of transport from an overseas government provided no undue obligation is created.”
In its response to an FoI request, the business department said “in some cases, transport and accommodation was provided by Aramco, but this was organised by the Saudi energy ministry, who worked closely with the British embassy [in] Riyadh on the programme.”
Definitely dodgy dealings … 
