UK minister criticized for ‘hiding’ in Qatar amid rail fare furor

A As millions of Britains bemoan the country’s largest rail fare hike in five years, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been criticized for avoiding the fray by making a trip to Qatar.
The opposition Labour Party accused Grayling of “going into hiding” to escape the outcry over a rise in rail fares that will see passengers paying up to £2,500 ($3,390) more for their annual season tickets than they did in 2010.
Protests took place at 40 train stations across the country as fares rose by an average of 3.4 percent, with season tickets increasing by 3.6 percent at the start of the year. 
Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that Britons spend up to six times more of their salaries on rail fares that commuters in other European countries.
Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald was quoted by UK media as saying: “Chris Grayling has gone into hiding, unable to defend today’s 3.6 percent fares hike and refusing to explain the £2 billion taxpayer bailout of Virgin East Coast. Passengers deserve better than this.”  
Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was quoted as saying: “Rail passengers are shivering on platforms angered by the biggest fare increase in years while Chris Grayling is off globetrotting.”
Speaking on LBC radio, Grayling said he was in Qatar to “win a couple of big contracts” for UK businesses. 
“I don’t think I’ve shirked the issue, but I think it’s really important we get out and try and win business for Britain,” he said. 
Britain is trying to drum up post-Brexit business in Gulf countries.
Responding to questions raised about the timing of Grayling’s two-day trip to Qatar, after which he will head to Turkey, the Department for Transport released a statement saying he was on “a pre-planned visit to promote the UK overseas, support British jobs and strengthen the important relationship between the two countries.”  
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: "There are ministers visiting a whole host of countries spreading the message that Britain is a very good place to invest and to do business in. Chris Grayling obviously plays an important part in that.”
However Grayling’s absence during the UK’s latest rail fare furor has added to speculation that his job may be on the line in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
Grayling, who served as justice minister from 2012 to 2015, was also behind a controversial decision to restrict prisoners’ access to books, which was subsequently declared unlawful and revoked.