No 10 ‘concerned’ MPs engaged in ‘sex and heavy
drinking’ on trips abroad
Downing Street says reports of raucous behaviour of
all-party trips are a matter for parliament
Rowena
Mason Whitehall editor
Wed 28 Dec
2022 17.01 GMT
No 10 has
said it is “very concerning” that MPs were reportedly met by sex workers in
their hotel rooms and engaged in raucous drinking while on parliamentary trips
abroad.
The prime
minister’s deputy official spokesperson said the oversight of trips taken by
all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) was a matter for parliament but
expressed concern about some of the behaviour reported by Politico and the
Times.
“We have
seen some of the reports and some of the behaviour reported is clearly very
concerning,” he said.
“The prime
minister believes MPs should be working hard for the public and the vast
majority are focused on trying to solve our shared challenges, whether that be
supporting the most vulnerable or working to making our schools better and
streets safer.
“The
regulation of APPGs is a matter for the House[s of Parliament] and the
standards committee is conducting an ongoing inquiry into APPGs. The process
around them is a matter for the house rather than government.”
There has
been longstanding concern about the operation of APPGs, which often organise
fact-finding trips for MPs abroad where there can be hospitality paid for by
foreign governments or companies.
The Times
reported on Wednesday that some senior government figures are concerned that
MPs and peers are engaging in “sex and heavy drinking” on foreign visits, and
that incriminating evidence could be used against those who are misbehaving.
An
investigation by Politico earlier this month claimed that one former
Conservative MP asked where the nearest brothel was when he visited a country
in south-east Asia, and that a former minister stayed on after official trips
to pursue his “interest in women”.
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