The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, did not attend either event.

However Human Rights Watch’s UK director, David Mepham, claimed some positives
came of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“We generally do not say that the Formula One should not happen or the
football championship should not happen in Ukraine,” Mepham told the
committee. “The reason for that is that we, basically, use the opportunity
of those events to bring pressure to bear and to draw public attention to
the abuses that are taking place there.

“In the context of the Formula One in Bahrain a few weeks ago, we did a huge
amount of advocacy and media work to try to expose the ongoing human rights
abuses in Bahrain.

“Actually, the issue got a lot of coverage because the Formula One was there.

“Similarly, in the case of Ukraine, we are very concerned about the treatment
of Miss Tymoshenko and so on. The fact that the football championships may
or may not happen in that country draws attention to her plight and the
wider human rights situation in the country.”