UK Prime Minister Under Investigation Over 2019 Holiday Trip To Caribbean Island

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being investigated for allegedly breaching the Parliament's Code of Conduct when he took a trip with his fiance to a private Caribbean island in December 2019, the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards confirmed on Monday.

According to the list published by parliamentary commissioner Kathryn Stone, who had been holding back the information until after the local elections that were held last week, Johnson is one of the nine lawmakers currently under scrutiny.

In the case of the UK prime minister, he is being probed for an alleged breach of paragraph 14 of the House of Common's Code of Conduct which refers to "Registration of interest under Category 4 of the Guide to the rules [Visits outside the UK] in 2020," when took his fiance Carrie Symonds on a �15,000 ($21,150) trip to Mustique, one of the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

When declaring the holidays in the register of lawmakers' interests Johnson said that their holidays had been paid by UK businessman David Ross, a traditional Conservative Party donor, but the former deputy chairman of Carphone Warehouse denied being the owner of the villa or paying for the trip.

The investigation by the parliamentary commissioner is the latest Johnson is facing, following another one launched by the Electoral Commission to find put who paid for the refurbishment works made at the prime minister's official residence in number 10 Downing Street.

Reacting to the new inquiry, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: "Another day, another investigation into Boris Johnson for more sleaze and dodgy dealings. Who paid for Boris Johnson's luxury Caribbean holiday and the renovation of his flat, and what did these donors expect in return for their huge generosity?"

According to the Express newspaper online edition, if Stone determines the prime minister is guilty of breaking the rules, she can ask him to apologise for the breach and take no further action, or refer the matter to the Committee on Standards if she thinks the offense is serious enough.