An investigation by independent outlet Middle East Eye has uncovered a contentious link between three sitting members of the UK House of Lords and a global consultancy firm that is registered to lobby senior UK officials on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf state widely accused of enabling widespread human suffering in Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
The three peers in question are Thangam Debbonaire, a former Labour Member of Parliament and shadow culture secretary elevated to the House of Lords by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2024; Conservative peer Ruth Porter, a former deputy chief of staff to ex-prime minister Liz Truss who serves as a managing director at the firm FGS Global; and Andrew Cooper, an independent peer and former senior advisor to ex-prime minister David Cameron, who holds a partner role at the company.
Per filings with the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, FGS Global has conducted active lobbying outreach to UK parliamentarians, senior civil servants, and other key stakeholders on behalf of the UAE since October 2025. The firm’s registered activities include organizing in-person meetings, telephone calls and email correspondence to boost awareness of the UAE-UK bilateral relationship, alongside providing strategic media guidance and content support to the UAE’s embassy in London.
The connection comes amid grave international allegations against the UAE: rights groups and United Nations Security Council investigators have repeatedly documented that the Gulf state has funneled weapons and logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group that has carried out mass atrocities over three years of civil war. The conflict has displaced an estimated 13 million Sudanese people and left hundreds of thousands dead, with UN investigators confirming that an RSF attack on the besieged city of El Fasher in October 2024 bore clear “hallmarks of genocide” that killed at least 6,000 people in just three days. The UAE has consistently denied all allegations of providing support to the RSF.
FGS Global has stated that no wrongdoing has occurred, emphasizing that all of its staff adhere strictly to UK transparency, disclosure and advocacy rules. The firm also clarified that none of the three House of Lords members associated with the company have worked on the UAE client account. No evidence has been presented to suggest the peers have engaged in any improper activity related to the UAE contract.
Despite these denials, transparency and human rights campaigners have raised urgent alarms about the conflict of interest inherent in having senior parliamentarians hold paid roles at firms lobbying for foreign governments accused of mass human rights violations. Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, argued that the current regulatory framework fails to address clear risks to democratic accountability. “When members of the House of Lords hold senior roles at firms lobbying for foreign governments, it’s hard to know whose interests are being represented,” Goodrich told Middle East Eye. “Peers are in Parliament to serve the public, not to open doors for paying clients. The rules should require peers to choose: keep their seat in the Lords, or keep their interests in the lobbying industry.”
Kristyan Benedict, crisis response manager at Amnesty International UK, echoed these concerns, noting that all parliamentarians have a duty to scrutinize the entities they associate with, particularly when those entities work for governments accused of breaking international law. The case of Debbonaire, one of the three peers, has added layers of controversy: she has previously been a vocal critic of outside paid lobbying for lawmakers, calling for a ban on second jobs for House of Commons members during a 2021 parliamentary standards debate, where she declared that “MPs should not be for sale” and that lawmakers are elected to serve the public good rather than private interests. In 2024, she also publicly opposed a proposed UAE-led takeover of UK media outlets the Telegraph and the Spectator, arguing that a foreign power-backed acquisition should not be approved.
Further scrutiny of FGS Global’s ties to UK politics has emerged following the investigation: the firm donated more than £27,000 to the UK Labour Party in 2024, with a portion of the funds used to second an FGS staff member, Kamella Hudson, as an election campaign advisor to current Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. Hudson was previously accused of arranging private meetings between UK ministers and Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, another FGS client, in 2024. The donations also funded a high-profile drinks reception following Reeves’ keynote speech to the 2024 Labour Party conference, UK media reports confirm.
The controversy also overlaps with longstanding criticism of the UK government’s continued arms sales to the UAE. Despite a full UN arms embargo on Sudan imposed in 2024, and UN findings that UK-manufactured arms are being diverted to the RSF via the UAE, the UK government has approved multiple arms export licenses to the Gulf state in 2025, including components for military vehicles, drone parts and gun silencers. “The UAE has been a known hub for arms diversion for years and the UK government has long been aware of weapons being routed through the Emirates to conflict zones like Sudan and Libya,” Benedict said. “The UK government has committed to help end the conflict in Sudan and to work to prevent atrocities, but it still hasn’t suspended all arms sales to the UAE, which it must do immediately.”
FGS Global’s lobbying work for the UAE extends far beyond the UK: the firm is also registered as a foreign agent for the Gulf state in the United States, where it has additionally represented the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland. Per US disclosure filings, FGS was contracted by the UAE to shape US policy on bilateral trade, investment and geopolitical issues through outreach to policymakers, media outlets, think tanks and academic circles. The UAE’s expanded global lobbying push comes as the country navigates a major diplomatic rift with its former ally Saudi Arabia, driven by disagreement over the UAE’s backing of secessionist movements across Yemen, Libya and Somalia.
In addition to the UAE, FGS Global’s UK client roster includes US tech giant Oracle, a company co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison with close ties to the second Trump administration. Oracle is a major funder of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a think tank chaired by former UK prime minister Tony Blair that sparked widespread controversy in February 2025 after it was revealed that institute staff had drafted plans for a post-war Gaza dubbed the “Trump Riviera”, a proposal widely condemned for appearing to endorse the ethnic cleansing of the territory’s Palestinian population. Blair currently serves on US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, a body tasked with overseeing the besieged enclave after a planned end to Israeli hostilities.