Trips to SriLanka causes suspension of British MP

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A British MP has been suspended for 30 days in the House of Commons after he was found guilty of breaking Westminster rules over luxury trips worth over 22 million rupees at the cost of Sri Lankan taxpayers during the government of Former Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2013. According to foreign media reports, the 30-day suspension, if confirmed by a Commons vote, is thought to be the longest period any MP has been barred from the Commons for 15 years. The ban has been imposed on Ian Paisley Jr of the Democratic Unionist Party for failing to disclose free luxury holidays he and his family received from the then government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. According to a recent report published by The Telegraph, Ian Paisley Jr had made two trips with his family in 2013 at the expense of the Sri Lankan Government. Paisley is reported to have written to the prime minister David Cameron in support of the Sri Lankan government about a proposed United Nations resolution at the Human Rights Council. The Commons standards committee said in view of the seriousness of this matter, that it recommended that Paisley be suspended from the service of the House for a period of 30 sitting days starting from the 4 September 2018. A damning report concluded that his actions amounted to ‘paid advocacy’ and ‘bring the House of Commons into disrepute’. The independent standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, found that the hospitality received “might reasonably be thought by others to influence the speech, representation or communication in question”.