{"id":123089,"date":"2014-04-12T00:03:52","date_gmt":"2014-04-11T18:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=123089"},"modified":"2014-04-27T11:34:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-27T06:04:00","slug":"uk-mp-groups-controversial-visit-to-sri-lanka-at-muralis-invitation-cancelled-after-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/uk-mp-groups-controversial-visit-to-sri-lanka-at-muralis-invitation-cancelled-after-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"UK MP Group’s Controversial Visit To Sri Lanka At Murali’s Invitation Cancelled After Criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

An all-expenses-paid trip by five UK MPs and their partners, including business-class travel to and from Sri Lanka, is cancelled amid cross-party recriminations – hours before departure, Channel 4 UK<\/span><\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

\"Muttiah<\/a>

Muttiah Muralitharan<\/p><\/div>\n

According Channel 4’s\u00a0Foreign Affairs Correspondent; “The trip, and all its costs, would have been borne by the\u00a0<\/span>Sri Lanka-based charity “Foundation of Goodness,”<\/span>\u00a0founded by legendary spin-bowler Muttiah Muralitharan<\/span><\/a>. He is an ethnic Tamil, who has been criticised for his\u00a0<\/span>support for the government<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Quoting\u00a0Conservative members of the group, Channel 4 said; \u00a0the MPs would have met senior Sri Lankan government ministers and officials, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stands accused of command responsibility for war crimes.<\/p>\n

Channel 4 News\u00a0said the sudden cancellation of their participation followed the intervention of a senior Labour front-bencher who strongly objected to what would have been a highly-controversial visit.\u00a0The group of MPs was to have flown direct to Colombo from London Gatwick at 2.25pm on Thursday.<\/p>\n

“Although the Sri Lankan government was not to have funded this particular trip, it has a long record of bank-rolling trips for British MPs, many of whom\u00a0later staunchly defend the regime during parliamentary debates.Since January 2012,\u00a0ten Conservative MPs have flown to Sri Lanka at Colombo’s expense.” Channel 4 said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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