UK trade envoy resigns over northern Cyprus visit
Following criticism of his visit to Northern Cyprus last week, Labour MP Afzal Khan resigned as the UK's trade envoy to Turkey. The territory hasn't been recognized by the UK government as Turkish troops have occupied Cyprus' northern third since the 1974 invasion. Mr Khan, the MP for Manchester Rusholme, also met Turkish-Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, a step that the Cypriot government described as "coMPlete condemnable and intolerable. Mr Khan paid for the trip himself and was visiting his nephew, as well as receiving an honorary degree from an academic university, according to Mr Khan.
Mr Khan wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron today that he believed it was
in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recessright to stand down at this time rather than to distract from the government's continuing efforts to get the best trade deals for this country. However, he maintained that his visit had been
and wasunrelated to his work as a trade envoy. He also stated that 20 British parliamentarians had visited northern Cyprus without receiving similar criticism. Wendy Morton, the shadow foreign minister, accepted the resignation, but Sir Keir Starmer may have dismissed Mr Khan earlier. Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign minister, had requested for the MP's resignation earlier this week.
Following Mr Khan's
Christos Karaolis, President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom, said the situation was "fully untenable. Mr Khan has resigned as the Trade Envoy to Türkiye, according to a government spokesperson.completely ineffective and ineffective visit to occupied northern Cyprus,
