Almost 400 properties in West Midlands met are owned by companies registered in countries that have faced questions over their human rights records.

The analysis is based on Land Registry data, made fully public for the first time this week, which details every foreign-owned plot of land and property in England and Wales.

It reveals there are 393 plots and buildings across West Midlands metropolitan area owned by companies based in countries scoring poorly on an international human rights index.

That index - by Freedom House, a non-profit organisation based in America that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights - gives every nation a “freedom rating”, from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest), based on a range of factors including political rights and civil liberties.

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Companies incorporated in the United Arab Emirates and in Ras Al Khaimah (one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates), which scores 20 on the index, own eight plots and properties in the area.

These were made up of two in Birmingham, including an hotel in Holloway Circus Queensway, two in Stafford, two in Sandwell, one in Dudley and one in Wolverhampton.

Companies which are considered “partially free” by Freedom House also have substantial holdings in the area.

Companies incorporated in Hong Kong (which scores 61 on the index) own 267 plots and buildings, while companies from the Seychelles (71 on the index) own 50.

Nationally, there are 98,581 foreign-owned plots and properties, with 7,695 owned by companies from countries deemed by Freedom House to be not free at all.

Those nations include not only the UAE and Saudi Arabia but also Bahrain, Brunei and Qatar.