It has now emerged that North Antrim MP, Ian Paisley, missed the key House of Commons vote on the Syria crisis because he was an all expenses paid trip to Uganda, sponsored by a bank which has paid him £7500 as a ‘consultant’.
The evidence emerges in a declaration which Mr Paisley has had to make to the House of Commons authorities. The entry on the register is as follows:- “Adviser to EBI S.A. a French financial institution, providing periodic advice for economic reports and analysis on global politics. Address: EBI S.A., 76 route de la Demi-Lune, P.O. Box 92057, Paris, France. Received £7,500 on 15 July for work carried out between 1 June and 31 July 2013. Hours: 21 hrs. (Registered 19 July 2013) As part of this work I undertook a 2 day visit to Uganda from 27 to 29 August, the costs of which (£5,000) were met by EBI. (Registered 2 September 2013).”
Commenting North Antrim TUV MLA said, “So, North Antrim was left without a voice and a vote in this crucial debate because the MP was on a £5000 trip paid for by a foreign bank from which he received £7500 for 21 hours work! I’ll leave it to the people of North Antrim to make their own judgement.”
It also emerges from the register that Mr Paisley in the past year has been on all expenses paid trips to New York, Gibraltar and the Maldives! Additionally he has received payments from News International for columns in The Sun.
The full entry in the register is as follows:-
“PAISLEY, Ian (North Antrim) 2. Remunerated employment, office, profession etc Payment of £100 received on 26 November 2012 from Populus, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AT, for participation in a survey. (Registered 3 December 2012) Payment of £600 from ComRes, Four Millbank, London SW1P 3JA, for 9 opinion surveys. Hours: 10 mins each; 1.5 hrs in total. (Registered 18 April 2013) Payments from News International, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1HR, for columns for the Sun: Received £300 on 29 March 2013. Hours: 2 hrs. (Registered 9 May 2013) Received £300 on 7 May 2013. Hours: 2 hrs. (Registered 13 May 2013) Received £380 on 24 June 2013. Hours: 2 hrs. (Registered 28 June 2013) Received £200 on 5 July 2013. Hours: 1 hr. (Registered 5 July 2013) Adviser to EBI S.A. a French financial institution, providing periodic advice for economic reports and analysis on global politics. Address: EBI S.A., 76 route de la Demi-Lune, P.O. Box 92057, Paris, France. Received £7,500 on 15 July for work carried out between 1 June and 31 July 2013. Hours: 21 hrs. (Registered 19 July 2013) As part of this work I undertook a 2 day visit to Uganda from 27 to 29 August, the costs of which (£5,000) were met by EBI. (Registered 2 September 2013) 6. Overseas visits Name of donor: Government of Gibraltar Address of donor: HM Government of Gibraltar, 150 Strand, London WC2R 1JA Amount of donation (or, if donation in kind, description and estimate of the probable value): Flights with a value of £1,633 and hotel costs with a value of £356; total £1,989.01 Destination of visit: Gibraltar Date of visit: 7-11 September 2012 Purpose of visit: Visit as part of a Parliamentary Delegation, to attend the celebration of Gibraltar Day as part of All Party Parliamentary Group (Registered 1 November 2012) Name of donor: Family Life Address of donor: 50 Bedford St, Belfast BT2 7FW Amount of donation (or estimate of the probable value): travel and accommodation with a total value of £3,000 approx Destination of visit: New York Date of visit: 14-16 March 2013 Purpose of visit: to meet with representatives of US Senate and House of Representatives as well as other experts, and to share expertise around maternal care and a variety of issues concerning unborn human life and the welfare of pregnant women. (Registered 11 April 2013) Name of donor: High Commission of Maldives Address of donor: 22 Nottingham Place, London WIU 5NJ 222 Amount of donation (or estimate of the probable value): flights and hotel accommodation with a value of £2,400 Destination of visit: Maldives Date of visit: 29-31 May 2013 Purpose of visit: To meet President and Vice President of the Maldives to discuss human rights; to meet local MPs to discuss presidential election and electoral reform (Registered 6 June 2013) 9. Shareholdings I have a 25% shareholding and am one of four unremunerated directors of QUBRIC Ltd, a private company limited by shares, whose purpose is to promote and share the experience of peace-building in Northern Ireland and conflict resolution. (Registered 21 August 2012).”
