Bromley council slammed for £30m investment into Qatar state bank
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
A town hall has defended its decision to invest £30m in the Qatar National Bank after public scrutiny.
Bromley council was said to be the London borough with the greatest investment, having deposited £30m in the past five years.
At a council meeting on December 12, Ju Owens, 25, asked Councillor Christopher Marlow if the council would reconsider its investments in Qatar National Bank.
The resident said she asked the question in relation to the human rights abuses and criminalisation of LGBT+ people during the 2022 World Cup.
The portfolio holder for resources said that Bromley council has £15m invested in Qatar National Bank, with £5m due to mature in June 2023 and the remaining £10m in December 2023.
He said that council investments were made using its treasury management strategy.
Cllr Marlow said: “The strategy sets up appropriate counterparties on the basis of various risk factors, including credit ratings and limits.
“These parameters determined that Qatar National Bank was an appropriate counterparty for the council to invest funds with at the time the investments were made and that favourable rates of return were available.”
Ms Owens then asked Cllr Marlow where the line was drawn in council investments if they were based solely on financial strategy.
She asked: “If the Bank of China offered Bromley council a decent rate of return, would its taxpayers’ money be invested there, despite the well-documented human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslims?”
Following Ms Owens’ comments, Councillor Simon Jeal asked Cllr Marlow if the management strategy included any language on human rights.
In response, Cllr Marlow said such language was not included, and that he did not remember any Labour members suggesting for such points to be added to the strategy.
After the meeting, Ms Owens told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I think it’s a bit ridiculous for them to say the reason we don’t have an ethical investment strategy is because the opposition didn’t force us to. You’ve already lost if you’re saying we’re asking the opposition to be our moral compass.”
Pictured top: Ju Owens, 25, shown outside the Bromley Civic Centre after the council meeting on Monday (Picture: Joe Coughlan)
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