How Britain’s post-Brexit trade talks with Gulf nations must weigh investment and human rights

Deals with Gulf nations will not be politically easy, as Anna Isaac explains

General view of the Burj Khalifa and the downtown skyline in Dubai (REUTERS)

Buzzwords such as ‘freeports’ and ‘levelling-up’ are more likely to paint a picture of a down-at-heel dockyard than the bright lights of Dubai. 

Yet from Teesside to the Thames, money from the Middle East is helping to bankroll the government’s flagship policies. 

The recent launch of the Thames Freeport — ‘Britain’s trading future’ according to the hard back coffee-table brochure dished out to attendees — is a case in point.