Mr Sunderland received gifts and free visits as part of his work with the Parliamentary Committee to Defend British Motorsport. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing.
Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also Prime Minister, paid for Mr Sunderland’s three-day visit to the Grand Prix in March, estimated at around £9,500.
This is due to the Parliamentary Interests Register, which requires elected parliamentary politicians to publicly declare gifts, travel and donations.
The Crown Prince paid for his round-trip airfare, three nights’ hotel accommodation, and entry fee to the Grand Prix for his trip from March 3 to March 6.
Mr Sunderland declared he was invited to visit because he co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motorsport. This is a group of MPs who discuss and investigate the UK motorsport industry.
He said the visit included several meetings with senior ministers from the Bahrain government, F1 and race teams to “discuss pressing international and national issues in motorsport”.
Mr Sunderland also received free tickets worth £1,650 to watch the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July 2023. Tickets were paid for by Silverstone Circuit Company.
Mr Sunderland told the newspaper: “As Chair of the Motorsport All Party Group, I traveled to Bahrain and Silverstone for cross-party meetings with Formula 1 stakeholders.
“The UK is a world leader in motorsport, adding over £10bn to the economy, leading in innovation and employing thousands of people.”
On another trip, Mr Sunderland visited Malawi for three days in July as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases.
His statement said the reason for the visit was to review the impact of malaria and tropical diseases in Malawi and the challenges in tackling them. This had an estimated cost of £2,430 paid by the parliamentary group.
Mr Sunderland told the News: “As vice-chair of the All Party Group on Malaria, I traveled to Malawi with a group of Labor and SNP MPs to see the new UK vaccine in action.”
He added: “My interests have been registered in strict accordance with parliamentary rules. Not a penny was paid to the taxpayer for these important visits.”