A trip to Israel by the DUP MP Sammy Wilson, which was paid for by that country’s government, was worth almost £4,000 (€4,560), it has emerged.
According to the latest entry in the register of MPs’ financial interests, the six-day “fact-finding” visit in October cost the Israel Embassy in London £3,810.
This was made up of flights worth £800, accommodation at £1,250 and food and transport valued at £1,760.
In a post on social media, Mr Wilson said he was “looking forward to hearing the truth of what is happening in Israel and Gaza, rather than the filtered propaganda from the BBC, and the scurrilous lies of the terrorist supporting Gaza mob marches.”
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The MP for East Antrim was one of a number of unionist politicians who took part in the trip, which included his party colleague Paul Givan, the Northern Ireland Minister for Education, who was criticised by teaching unions for using departmental resources to promote the trip.
A subsequent no-confidence motion in the Assembly earlier this month, which was proposed by People Before Profit and supported by Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the SDLP, failed despite receiving more than 50 per cent of votes in favour because it did not have the cross-community support required under Stormont rules.
Separately on Tuesday, an attempt by the DUP to block a decision by the Minister for the Economy, Sinn Féin’s Caoimhe Archibald, not to engage in trade talks with Israel failed after a vote by Executive ministers.
The DUP challenge was defeated after Ms Archibald’s move was backed by the four Sinn Féin ministers and two Alliance.
Ms Archibald said her decision was “about ensuring there is no enabling of the genocide against the people of Gaza.
“As Economy Minister, I am determined to do everything in my power to defend human rights, to uphold international law and support the defenceless people of Gaza and Palestine.
“No minister and no administration should be enabling genocide, and I don’t think that is something that should have come to the Executive, and that was the view of the majority in the Executive this morning,” she said.
However, the Deputy First Minister, the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly, said it showed “clear division” over the issue and the minister “needs to bring forward those matters to the Executive for consideration and agreement.
“We cannot have a situation where our Economy Minister is setting down politically-motivated trade policy because Israel today, what next?
“There are processes and safeguards for this,” she said, adding that such issues should come before the Executive table because “it is absolutely inarguable that the issue is controversial, there is no doubt there is a potentially huge impact of this.” – Additional reporting: PA
