Special Investigation: Hundreds of politicians have each accepted thousands of pounds worth of trips to exotic locations. So what do their hosts want in return?
Backbench MPs have gone on more than £1.5m of
trips with all expenses paid by foreign governments, pressure groups and
companies in little over two years, The Independent can
reveal. Several MPs have spent months out of the country on foreign
trips, sometimes while Parliament is sitting, while many of those
funding the visits have a vested interest in lobbying MPs.
The findings show that:
* One in five Conservative backbench
MPs had been taken on trips to Israel and Palestine since 2010 – the
majority paid for by pro-Israeli lobbying groups. In total 79 MPs have
been funded to visit the region at an approximate cost to their hosts of
more than £130,000.
* Saudi Arabia paid £36,000 to take 12 MPs on
a four-day trip to Riyadh. MPs have also accepted £41,000 worth of
trips to Azerbaijan.
* MPs have been on 36 visits to China and
Hong Kong, 23 visits to India and 34 visits to the US since the general
election, but only one MP has accepted a trip to Afghanistan and only
two MPs have visited Belgium. Six MPs have been on trips to Australia,
five to Brazil and three to the Cayman Islands.
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