The UK’s parliament’s standards watchdog has launched an investigation into a Northern Ireland MP over an alleged breach of lobbying rules in his support for the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards’ probe follows reports last month that Sammy Wilson, a lawmaker for the Democratic Unionist Party, failed to declare an interest when asking parliamentary questions after taking an all-expenses paid trip to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, the Belfast-based Irish News reported.
The parliamentary codes of conduct state that when asking parliamentary questions “members must indicate any relevant interest on the question form.”
But Wilson, alongside two former Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, failed to declare their interest when tabling parliamentary questions that appeared to support the interests of the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus.
The revelations followed an investigation published by Democracy for Sale and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
Wilson and his parliamentary colleagues’ free trips were organized by “Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus,” a UK-based group that advocates for the breakaway entity in northern Cyprus.
Wilson put down more than half a dozen questions about northern Cyprus, including about Greek troop numbers in the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and direct flights from the UK to northern Cyprus, which is prohibited.
The DUP MP also published opinion pieces arguing that the UK should support the recognition of the entity in northern Cyprus.
The so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” has only been recognized by Turkey, which invaded the island in 1974.
