British Parliamentarian Apologizes After OCCRP Report on Trip to Northern Cyprus

A member of the U.K. Parliament this week publicly apologized over a sponsored trip he took to the breakaway region of northern Cyprus.

In September, OCCRP reported that Sammy Wilson had failed to declare his interest in the subject when tabling a Parliamentary question about “the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” which is recognized only by Turkey.

Wilson is being investigated by the Parliamentary standards commissioner for breaching the code of conduct. The code states that when asking questions in Parliament, “members must indicate any relevant interest.”

Wilson, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party, apologized on Monday in the House of Commons for breaching the code of conduct.

“I wish to apologize to the House for my failure to declare an interest when tabling a parliamentary question to the secretary of state for business and trade on 26 January 2024,” Wilson said.

“When I tabled the question I inadvertently neglected to declare my interest of a fact-finding trip to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, paid for by the Turkish Chamber of Commerce, which was in breach of the rules," he added.

“I apologize to the House for this error and I’m grateful for the Parliamentary commissioner for standards for his time and care in rectifying this matter.”

Wilson was one of five British Parliamentarians who failed to declare their interest in the subject before asking questions about northern Cyprus, OCCRP and its Cypriot member center, CIReN, reported.

The trips were arranged by the lobby group Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus. The group has coordinated trips for more than a dozen British politicians during the past two years, posting photos on social media of their meetings with officials, including Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. 

As well as tabling Parliamentary questions, Wilson penned opinion pieces arguing that the U.K. should support independence for northern Cyprus.

Cyprus was divided in 1974, when Turkey’s military took control of the island’s north in response to a Greek-backed coup against the Republic of Cyprus government at the time, which aimed at annexing the whole island to Greece.

The Turkish Cypriot third of the island is now under the effective control of Turkey, which has troops stationed there. Greek Cypriots control the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. United Nations peacekeepers have been stationed in Cyprus for decades.

MPs have been sanctioned in the past for breaking parliamentary lobbying rules after going on sponsored trips.

In 2018, Ian Paisley, a former DUP MP and son of the party’s founder, was suspended from Commons for a month for lobbying on behalf of Sri Lanka after taking an undeclared trip to the country worth about $128,000.