Ian Paisley Jr will refer himself to the Westminster watchdog over claims he is discussing a Sri Lanka with a post-Brexit trade deal after enjoying undeclared £100,000 holidays funded by its Government.
The DUP MP and son of its co-founder, whose 10 MPs are keeping Theresa May in power, was allegedly treated to two all-expenses paid trips with his wife and children.
The Paisleys allegedly flew business class, were driven around in a Mercedes or flown in a helicopter and put up in luxury hotels, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Ministers are duty-bound to declare any visit costing more than £300 among there parliamentary interests – a failure to do so is a breach of rules – but no record of a visit is on Mr Paisley’s records.
Mr Paisley tweeted the picture with a Sri Lanka high commissioner Amari Wijewardene in Westminster this week after discussing a post-Brexit trade with Sri Lanka, where he is accused of taking two undeclared £100,000 paid for by their government
The DUP MP for North Antrim has tweeted about the claims last night and says they are defamatory and will refer himself to the parliamentary watchdog
The 2013 trips were paid for by the Sri Lankans, who he is now helping with a post-Brexit trade deal, it is alleged.
This week Mr Paisley tweeted a picture with Amari Wijewardene in Westminster and said: ‘With Sri Lanka high commissioner to discuss NI-Sri Lanka trade deal after Brexit.’
A few days later he then tweeted an image of himself International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and said they were ‘discussing our trade agreements post Brexit’.
The DUP MP for North Antrim has tweeted about the holiday claims last night.
He wrote: ‘I will refer myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Daily Telegraph article is defamatory. It is devoid of fact or logic. Referred to my lawyer’.
The Telegraph claims to have seen documents setting out of the two undeclared trips, the first in March 2013 and then the second in July 2013. A third trip in November was declared.
In March he spent ten days in the country with his wife and four children.
After flying in business class they allegedly stayed in a suite at the Hilton hotel in Colombo, then at the five-star Heritance hotel near Galle before ending the visit at the Amethyst resort in eastern Sri Lanka.
In the July he allegedly returned with his wife and two children, again flying in business class, and stayed for a week including for a period at a Heritance five star resort.
In the same week he then tweeted an image of himself International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and said they were ‘discussing our trade agreements post Brexit’ (pictured)
The Telegraph claims the Sri Lankan ministry of external affairs paid for the flights and set up the hotels.
It is claimed that the Paisleys were also flown around the country by helicopter, costing £11,400, and also visited some of Sri Lanka’s most historic sites and breathtaking attractions.
Mr Paisley is threatening the Telegraph with legal action over last night’s story and the parliamentary watchdog will look at his case.
If the allegations are true, Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Tamils, said last night: ‘Sri Lanka has a seriously bad human rights record. Why would anybody accept holidays for their family if they wanted to speak in defence of the regime?’.
Fellow Labour MP Wes Streeting said: ‘No MP ought to give the impression they are acting or speaking out on an issue because they have been on all-expenses-paid trips to the country in question rather than thinking objectively about the issue at hand and acting in the UK’s national interest.’