Saturday 9 September 2017



Ian Paisley Jnr faces questions on €100,000 holidays in Sri Lanka

Holidays: Ian Paisley Jnr

IAN Paisley Jnr faces questions over holidays worth more than €100,000 he accepted from a country he is now helping to secure a post-Brexit trade deal.
The prominent Democratic Unionist Party MP accepted two all-expenses-paid trips from the Sri Lankan government, according to documents seen by the ‘Daily Telegraph’.
Mr Paisley took his wife and four children to the country, according to the reports. They flew business class, stayed in fine hotels and were provided with a chauffeur-driven Mercedes.
However, the trips were never disclosed in the House of Commons register of interests.
Mr Paisley is one of 10 DUP members relied on by Prime Minister Theresa May to prop up her government.
Shortly after the holidays Mr Paisley spoke in Parliament and suggested Queen Elizabeth could visit Sri Lanka to aid the peace process there.
This week, Mr Paisley posted a picture of himself with Amari Wijewardene, the Sri Lankan high commissioner, outside the Houses of Parliament captioned: “With Sri Lanka high commissioner to discuss NI-Sri Lanka trade deal after Brexit.”
Two days after the meeting in Parliament, Mr Paisley posted a picture of himself alongside Liam Fox, Britain’s International Trade Secretary. It was captioned: “With Liam Fox discussing our trade agreements post Brexit.”
The Sri Lankan high commission in London said yesterday that Mr Paisley was considered to be in a good position to help “enhance trade relations between Sri Lanka and UK” given the DUP’s role supporting Mrs May’s government.
The trips, which took place in 2013, have also raised questions given Sri Lanka’s questionable human rights record. Later that year, Conservative MPs were banned from accepting trips funded by the Sri Lankan government due to concern about the regime’s lobbying tactics.
The two trips took place in March and July 2013. On the first, he stayed for 10 days and took his entire family. On the second, he stayed for seven days and took his wife, Fiona, and two of their children.
The Sri Lankan ministry of external affairs is understood to have paid for business-class flights for the couple and their children, costing about €17,000, and arranged six hotels across the two trips, picking up the bill for their meals at the hotels.
The government also paid for helicopters to shuttle Mr Paisley and his family around, at a cost of €12,500 for one of the trips, with its defence ministry clearing space for them to land.
During their stays, they were taken to attractions including an elephant sanctuary, a national park and a Buddhist temple, with the costs of the excursions covered by the government.
By failing to declare his trips, Mr Paisley appears to be in breach of parliamentary rules – as funded trips that cost more than £300 (€320) must be declared.
Mr Paisley has been a vocal supporter of the Sri Lankan government in recent years, calling for “positive trading opportunities” between Britain and the island, as well as highlighting how human rights abuses may have been committed by Tamils as well as the government.
Mr Paisley declined to answer questions from ‘The Telegraph’ about his trips to Sri Lanka, and his subsequent discussions with the high commissioner on a post-Brexit trade deal. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

PAT SAYS:

Ian Paisley's hiding of his gifts from the Sri Lankans is another chapter in a long list of political dishonesty and hiding.

Many politicians will try and get away with this if they can.

Maybe a tougher declaration requirement should be introduced and serious penalties for breaking them?

Big Ian was into his religion but I imaging he had a bob or two also.

Little Ian has proven he is weak when it comes to making money and gifts.

In fact, I met him one day a few years ago with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner. The meeting was not planned. Our paths crosed in the Galgorm Hotel and Spa. 

I was there with friends and Ian came in with the High Commissioner.

He introduced me to the Sri Lankan diplomat as: "One of our most famous Northern Ireland priests".

So Ian and the High Commissioner have a longstanding friendship.

The incident shows that politics, as well as power corrupts.

34 comments:

  1. I wouldn't have minded seeing inside Da Paisley's building society passbook. He lived rent free in the manse and was successively and sometimes simultaneously Moderator of the Free Presbyterians, party leader, a councillor, MP, MEP, MLA, First Minister, Peer. Imagine the various salaries expenses and pensions they produced. Because of the security risks he was driven everywhere by police so didn't even have to pay for that. And then when the DUP was given the right to nominate members to Lords who should his first appointment be but his wife, putting her on the gravy train too.

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  2. Pat,
    A more correct introduction would have been, as one of the most infamous Northern Ireland priests.

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  3. I was coming down the big staircase at Stormont and who should be the bottom but the DUP politician Sammy Wilson (Pat's MP) and Rhonda Paisley, the Rev Ian's daughter. Sammy and Rhonda were in a relationship at the time.

    I couldn't help but overhear Rhonda say to Sammy "you know I'd love to, but Daddy wouldn't like it". I have no idea what Sammy was proposing or what it was that Paisley wouldn't like.

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    1. Sammy maybe wanted to take her to a nudey beach

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    2. She was lucky to steer clear.

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    3. Or he suggested they both convert to Catholicism?

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  4. Talking of politicians.
    Nuala..don't know why u wd call Corbin a communist fart.
    He got the votes and is entitled to his opinions.
    When I was at a funeral mass in England in the 80s, the non Catholics all went for communion...it's the done thing there.
    And receiving communion is between the person and God...really nobody else's business.

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    Replies
    1. 14.43 Your comments about non Catholics going to Communion at a funeral in England as, "the done thing there" is misleading and false. It most certainly isn't the done thing there I assure you. Most Priests will give a gentle reminder to everyone that only Catholics can receive and anyone else is more than welcome to come forward for a blessing.

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    2. Ah, 15:34! So clericalism is rife, too, even in that historic bastion of liberalism and enlightenment, England.

      Reminds of the time when those precious little ones of God, the learning-impaired, were denied the Eucharist by the holy men of God in clerical collars because these little ones would not have understood (and, therefore, been able to affirm the theological reality of) the Eucharist.

      If only the Church were founded as solidly on Christ as it is on Christ-betraying clericalism!

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    3. And your view is relevant because? Crawl back under the stone you emerged from.

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    4. God! The fools that post here.��

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    5. Truth is always relevant, 19:55.

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    6. Ah, a kindred spirit, 20:24!

      Glad you agree with me.

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    7. Emotional response to a post is neither rational nor intelligent engagement. And your response appears merely emotional.

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  5. 100 thousand not any worse than than the ash forcash or red sky.
    They all money mad

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  6. 15.34
    Not misleading or false, granted no information was given by the priest.
    My relative says it is common practice.
    People feel they are honouring the deceased person.
    Yes we were impressed, pity the same thing doesn't happen here in n I
    I'm a practicing Catholic and I have received communion at an intimate service for c of I people once. The celebrant invited me to so I did.

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    Replies
    1. The C of I and C of E would offer Communion to a monkey. It is still false to insist something is common place when it's quite clearly not the same. We are not in Communion with other Christian Churches and we are not unified. Why then would we offer Communion? You clearly don't understand Catholic teaching on the Eucharist.

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  7. Wasn't young ian in bother before over a holliday home in bushmills a few years ago ?

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  8. Pat, I wonder if the Sri Lankan Government could be persuaded to hand over some readies to the Bishop of Down and Connor to make his palace of Lisbreen even more palatial. It's been a year or more since a few million was spent doing it up and it's already starting to look a bit tired. And kitchens and bathrooms go out of date very quickly and can be embarrassing when you have guests, especially other bishops round.

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  9. For how long will the poor man be known as Ian Paisley Jnr?

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    Replies
    1. Prob till he dies.
      Keeps him young

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    2. Right enough. The Americans would say Ian Paisley II

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  10. Don't know much about Sri Lankan.
    Do we have missionaries there?
    Is it a 3rd world country.
    Good on Ian getting freebies.
    Bit like the prince Andrew story.
    At least he took his wife and family.
    And wasn't laying out like some of our clergy do when no one is looking

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  11. Wonder why Garda o Sullivan is retiring from midnight.
    Maybe she has been to a Sri Lankan countrytoo

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  12. Next it will be May
    Then the fasttalker
    Women have still a long way to go it seems b4 they are accepted as leaders

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  13. Pat, what an utter waste of blogging today. The same old fools. Same old, tiresome, stupid, puerile nonsense. Have you gone further astray! Or has Magsy been knocking you about too much with his drink fuelled crap for the past few days?

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    Replies
    1. 'Magsy' heard that!

      Watchin' you.😎

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    2. My sentiments exactly! Utter tripe...

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  14. The difficulty, I believe, lies very much in the mistaken view that one much come up with a daily scandalous topic in order to be interesting..... That's the Achilles heel....

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  15. Women often don't seem themselves defined purely in terms of their work. They have lives outside work. When they are ready to move on, they do so with courage and conviction. That can be something we struggle with.....

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  16. Ian Paisley is kinda hot......no? I think there's a cheeky side to him which is sexy.

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  17. I knew a male senior civil servant in the Northern Ireland Office who had the hots for Ian Jnr. Less so for Ian Snr.

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  18. Ian's brother Kyle is interesting for his theological and political views. He's a Free P minister of the more reflective kind and well worth a Google.

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