Gina Rinehart and Pauline Hanson have swapped high fashion and the Scilian sun for a right-wing political conference in London that the One Nation leader is set to address on Saturday.

Australia’s richest woman was spotted strolling through the foyer outside the ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel at the O2 in North Greenwich, where the three-day CPAC-GB conference is underway.

Dressed casually in a pink cowboy hat from her S.Kidman fashion label, clutching reading glasses and accompanied by an assistant carrying a shopping bag and a floor-length printed gown, Ms Rinehart has emerged as a surprise attendee at the conference.

She was escorted through the venue by a woman representing the Conservative Political Action Conference and two men carrying a shopping bag and her gown.

The CPAC-GB conference is an offshoot of the US event and is organised by former UK prime minister Liz Truss, and will feature Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage.

But the event is poorly attended with speakers talking to a nearly-empty room. Fewer than 200 people were seen attending on Friday, down from the opening day’s numbers, which were also low.

Ms Rinehart and Ms Hanson have both been photographed attending an elite Dolce & Gabbana show which was attended by Jennifer Lopez, Monica Belluci and this year’s World Cup sensation, Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland.

Ms Rinehart has donated a private plane to Ms Hanson to use to fly around Australia. The Financial Review first published photos of the pair poolside at the Sicilian Grand Hotel San Pietro, the hotel that featured in the cult TV series White Lotus.

Ms Hanson had been in the UK prior to her Sicilian holiday, to meet the criminal and far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who recently travelled to Moscow on a trip funded by Elon Musk’s philanthropic venture and family foundation.

Ms Hanson’s senate colleague Malcolm Roberts is under fire at home for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Senator Roberts told a podcast that it was an example of Putin “standing up to globalists.”

Senator Roberts has also shared an anti-semitic mural, prompting calls for his resignation.