A number of MPs have used parliamentary trips abroad to visit prostitutes and drink heavily, it has been claimed.
One Tory MP would even stay on after trips to pursue his interest in local women, according to a damning exposé by Politico.
The litany of allegations follows a year of sleaze and sex scandals that have rocked the Commons and ended multiple careers.
The new claims include a former Tory MP, now in the Lords, who asked for directions to the nearest brothel on a trip and a Labour MP who had a fondness for “Russian girls” on visits abroad.
Concerns centre on the activities of some all-party parliamentary groups [APPG] - in particular ones that focus on countries.
APPGs are commonly platforms for good causes however critics argue they are largely unregulated and give lobbyists access to MPs.
The website spoke to MPs, peers, diplomatic and parliamentary officials.
One female MP told Politico the APPGs were traditionally dominated by male Labour and Tory backbenchers who coordinated with each other to visit nice places.
Other allegations surrounded heavy drinking on trips and included a European trip in which three MPs failed to turn up to a breakfast meeting organised by the embassy after boozing the night before.
Last year a number of MPs were accused of becoming heavily intoxicated on a visit arranged by the Parliamentary Armed Forces Scheme. A number of the MPs denied the claims which they described as a “bizarre Tory smear campaign”.
The Select Committee on Standards launched an inquiry into APPGs in October 2020 to investigate their activities and governance.
They warned that hostile states buying access to MPs and peers could be “the next great parliamentary scandal”, in a report released earlier this year.
It found APPGs were at risk of “improper lobbying” by foreign actors.
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