James Wharton

James Wharton has been the Conservative MP for Stockton South since 2010.

Sri Lanka

Wharton has repeatedly defended Sri Lanka's regime in the House of Commons and has travelled to the island several times at their expense. According the Telegraph:

During a Westminster Hall debate in January, Mr Wharton said: “I have been to Sri Lanka a number of times, and the visits are all declared in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

“What worries me is how much misinformation is out there about what is happening on the ground. The tone of debate in the House too often worries me, because we focus on what we can do to punish the government of Sri Lanka.”

The Telegraph reported that:

Mr Wharton said he had “declared all declarable visits in accordance with the rules”. :He said he had visited the country “as a guest of the government… to ensure a balanced view on all the issues”.

In November 2013 Wharton was one of several Tory MPs told by the Whips’ Office had told MPs that they could not go to Sri Lanka following an investigation by the Telegraph newspaper.

Affiliations

• All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas

External resources

• Ian Burrell, Four visits in nine months and statements in the Commons on the controversial Rajapaska regime: why does the 28-year-old MP for Stockton James Wharton care so much about Sri Lanka?, Independent, 23 November 2012.
• Claire Newell, Holly Watt, Ben Bryant, Tory MPs banned from free Sri Lanka trips The Telegraph, 6:00AM GMT 11 Nov 2013