Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PAISLEY’S COMMONS SLEAZE BAN OVER HOLIDAYS
MP lobbied against probe into war crimes DUP man risks by-election over his misconduct Ian hit with 30-day bar over Sri Lanka hols
IAN Paisley lobbied the Prime Minister to oppose a UN war crimes probe in Sri Lanka after getting free holidays, a damning report has found.
The North Antrim MP is now facing a record 30-day ban from the House of Commons and a possible by-election.
A Parliamentary watchdog found the DUP politician breached rules by failing to declare two holidays worth more than £50,000 and engaging in “paid advocacy”.
Mr Paisley was facing calls to step down yesterday after the report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards was published.
Members who are suspended from the Commons for more than 10 days are open to what is called a recall petition.
A by-election would be triggered if 10% of the electorate in Mr Paisley’s North Antrim constituency sign that petition.
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The committee stated Mr Paisley signed a letter in March 2014 to the then Prime Minister, along with other MPS, which “note[d] with alarm the decision by HMG to internationalise the internal affairs of Sri Lanka” and appealed for the Government not to support a UN resolution “internationalising” the conflict in that country.
The focus of the probe was to be the deaths of as many as 40,000 civilians towards the end of the civil war involving the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
A 220-page UN report released in September 2015 said the international body had found evidence “strongly indicating” war crimes were committed in Sri Lanka in the closing phases of its civil war.
The Commons report noted Mr Paisley “accepts the Commissioner’s finding that he committed a breach of the Rules of the House by failing to register within 28 days the two visits he made to Sri Lanka with family members in March/ April 2013 and in July 2013”.
It added: “However, he disputes the Commissioner’s findings he (a) breached the Rules of the House on declaration by failing to declare the personal benefit and hospitality from the Sri Lankan government in his letter to the Prime Minister of 19 March 2014, and (b) breached the House’s rule on paid advocacy by asking in that letter for an exclusive benefit for Sri Lanka, having received personal benefit and hospitality from that government within the previous 12 months.”
The committee members dismissed Mr Paisley’s rejection he breached rules in his failure to declare the hospitality in his letter to the Prime Minister.
They also said they “support the conclusion of the Commissioner that Mr Paisley was in breach of the Code of Conduct by engaging in paid advocacy” in that letter.
The Standards Committee added “we conclude he has committed serious misconduct”.
They said: “We have concluded that Mr Paisley’s actions were of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute and that he was therefore in breach of this rule also.”
The claims, relating to two family holidays in 2013, first appeared in the Daily Telegraph in September last year. Mr Paisley referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards when the allegations first emerged.
On the trips he is reported to have stayed in the Heritance Hotel near Galle and the Hilton Colombo.
We have called for Ian Paisley to step down and resign. The charges are very serious MARY LOU MCDONALD SINN FEIN LEADER YESTERDAY
It was also reported he met the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to discuss post-brexit deals.
At the time the DUP man dismissed the allegations as being “devoid of fact or logic”. Regarding the value of the holidays, the report found that “While he [Paisley] has disputed the Daily Telegraph’s claim that the value was £100,000, by his own calculation it amounted to over £50,000 – and may have been significantly more than that”.
It added: “This massively exceeded the threshold for registration, which at that time was £660.”
A statement issued by Mr Paisley’s lawyer on Thursday said: “My client has apologised unreservedly at the outset for his unintentional failure to register the hospitality he received.
“While accepting the decision of the House Standards Committee, he nonetheless continues to take issue with the sensationalised report in the Daily Telegraph.
“Legal proceedings are being considered.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald said: “We have called for Ian Paisley Jnr to step down and resign. I think the charges made against him and findings against him are very serious.”
TUV leader Jim Allister added: “It is good that he has been held to account but in bringing this shame on himself he has not only let himself down but left North Antrim with no voice and vote in Parliament at this critical time for Brexit.
“If any key vote on Brexit is lost because of Ian Paisley’s antics, then, that will be his shameful legacy for all time.”