PM Cameron urged to press Emir of Qatar on terror funds

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PM Cameron urged to press Emir of Qatar on terror funds. (Telegraph).

David Cameron is under intense pressure to hold face-to-face talks with the Emir of Qatar this week to demand that the Gulf state cuts off the flow of funding to terrorists.

The Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, will arrive in Britain amid a growing furore over his country's alleged links to the financing of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and al-Qaeda.

The Prime Minister will host the Qatari ruler and his entourage for lunch in No 10 as part of talks to attract billions of pounds of investment. However, Mr Cameron is facing demands to press Sheikh al-Thani to take stronger action against jihadi financiers in Qatar.

It is understood that the Emir will also meet with Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service. Critics of Qatar will want that meeting to focus on why the state has not done more to stop the fund-raisers operating from its capital Doha.

The negotiations follow warnings from the Obama administration last week that Qatar and Kuwait remain fertile grounds for terrorist funders. 

David Cohen, the US official in charge of terrorism and financial intelligence, said the two states were "permissive jurisdictions for terrorist financing".

The Telegraph’s Stop The Funding Of Terror campaign has highlighted the role played by Qatar and other Gulf states, supposed to be allies in the war against Isil and al-Qaeda, in allowing the financing of terrorism.

Last night, Stephen Barclay, the Tory MP for North-East Cambridgeshire, who has repeatedly called for transparency in Britain’s dealings with Qatar and other Gulf states, said it was "essential" for Mr Cameron to raise the issue of terror financing with the Emir. Hmmm......Start by cancelling all arms sales to Qatar. Read the full story here.