Gina Rinehart helped fund Pauline Hanson’s controversial Italy getaway, where the pair attended a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show and were pictured together at a luxury hotel, the One Nation leader has confirmed.An update to Hanson’s register of interests on Tuesday showed the mining billionaire paid for the One Nation leader’s return flights from London to Sicily, via Rome, on 11 and 16 July.A invitation to an exclusive Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in the Sicilian town of Taormina on 13 and 14 July was also provided courtesy of Australia’s richest person, according to the senator’s updated register of interests.Hanson paid for her own accomodation, meals and daily expenses.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The One Nation leader initially refused to say who funded the Italy trip after the Australian Financial Review published photos of her and Rinehart at the Grand Hotel San Pietro in Taormina.The getaway came in the middle of Hanson’s “fact-finding mission” to the UK, where she appeared on a podcast with far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson and addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in London.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIn a social media video responding to criticism in Australia over the trip, Hanson insisted it had come at no cost to the taxpayer.“Yes, I went to Sicily. Yes, I went to the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show,” she said.“What an experience. I was invited to go and thought, ‘well, I’ve never been to anything like that’. And I thought, ‘yes, I’m going to go and see it’. Is it my scene? No, no way in the wide world.”Guardian Australia revealed earlier this year that Hanson had failed to properly declare several free flights from Rinehart under Senate rules, which require senators to disclose updates to their interests within 35 days.The return flights to Sicily were taken in mid-July, meaning Hanson has complied with the rules in this instance.The latest gift is further evidence of the closeness of the relationship between Hanson and her highest-profile benefactor.More details soon …