There is something rather eerie about seeing a review into Islamophobia in the UK's ruling Conservative party, followed by an example of complicity by the British prime minister. But that is what happened when Boris Johnson hosted Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, in London last month.
It makes a postmortem of the actual report even more ironic to carry out; but Islamophobia, and the toleration of it at the highest levels of the British establishment, remains one of the greatest tests for the soul of the Conservative party. The sad reality may be, however, that the party does not care about failing that test.
On May 25, an inquiry ordered by the Tories criticised the party, led by Mr Johnson, for failing to adequately investigate accusations of bigotry within the establishment, with some two-thirds of those complaints relating to anti-Muslim sentiment.
The inquiry was completed months ago, sparking speculation that it had been held back in order to avoid negative publicity before the local UK elections held in May.
Though ordered by Mr Johnson himself, the inquiry criticised the Prime Minister for his own comments pertaining to Muslims. The inquiry is said to indict the lack of seriousness involved in the Conservative party's approach to dealing with complaints around alleged discrimination – and particularly with regards to Muslims.
Uncomfortably for the party, however, senior Muslim Conservatives, such as Sajjad Karim, a former Conservative member of the European Parliament, and Sayeeda Warsi, a Conservative member of the House of Lords, were less than enthusiastic about lauding the report’s findings.
Mr Karim described the inquiry as “nothing but an attempt to whitewash deep-rooted issues out of sight". It is not surprising that he would see it that way; the inquiry failed to hold the Conservative party to account for systemic problems of discrimination, and instead narrowly defined the issues.
The original call for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the party, as per an election pledge by Mr Johnson, had been swept away and refocused on to all forms of discrimination instead, despite widespread concerns about specifically the issue of Islamophobia in the party.
As a result, the inquiry could distance the Conservatives from the specific accusations on one hand, and sidestep any in-depth examination pertaining to Islamophobia on the other. And as the inquiry’s mandate was set up by the party itself, it was able to define the parameters of its own investigation – which protected it from the most damning conclusions – that the party’s issues on Islamophobia permeate throughout.
Whether it is Mr Johnson's own statements in a newspaper column he wrote in 2018 calling Muslim women who wear the face-veil, "letterboxes", or the Conservative party's mayoral candidate for London, Zac Goldsmith, accusing the current Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, of links to radical extremists, it is clear: the Tories have a specific problem to address when it comes to Islamophobia.
Be that as it may, the cochairwoman, Amanda Milling, said they would "like to apologise to anyone who has been hurt by discriminatory behaviour of others or failed by [the Conservative party’s] system".
Ms Warsi said this constituted "an acknowledgement of racism and systematic failure". But neither the inquiry nor the party accepted that the party’s issues were evidence of institutional discrimination against Muslims, despite the mass amounts of complaints, resulting in calls for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Great Britain’s national equality body, to conduct an independent inquiry.
Instead of recognising the scale of the problem, the Tories attempted to control criticism of it
Perhaps rubbing salt into the wound, a few days later, Mr Orban, who has been accused of peddling anti-Semitic tropes and Islamophobia, was feted in Downing Street. While Mr Orban's views are perhaps the most blatant example of the anti-Muslim extremism being mainstreamed in Europe, he is by no means the only one.
In France, for example, the constitutional principle of secularism or "laicite" has been "weaponised", in the words of French legal scholar Rim-Sarah Alouane, in a way that is deliberately focused on problematising Muslims for simply being Muslim.
There are now scores of academic studies, including those published by the multinational Grease consortium, funded by the European Commission, raising concerns about how widespread the sentiments of the far-right are in mainstream political life and the problem is worsening.
It is why the Conservative party’s report is so symbolic. It at least tacitly admits that there is a problem at the highest levels. But it was a missed opportunity. Instead of recognising the scale of the problem, it attempted to control criticism of the problem. Such half measures will do nothing to combat bigotry in our societies; they will only serve to allow it to come in with more strength through the backdoor.
Dr HA Hellyer, a Carnegie Endowment scholar, is a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Cambridge University
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MO
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