By Chris Visser
A Lancashire MP today insisted he was not 'sunning' himself during a Parliamentary trip to the Caribbean.
Chorley's Lindsay Hoyle said he discussed constitutional affairs on the visit to the Cayman Islands, where islanders raised issues including their educational system and the effects of a recent hurricane.
Mr Hoyle told the Evening Post: "I was invited over, and it was paid for by the Cayman Islands' government. I was speaking on constitutional changes and that's what I was doing.
"I wasn't sunning myself up. It was in my time and I haven't taken any time off. It was an official visit."
Pressure-group the Taxpayers' Alliance has already questioned the relevance of the 9,500-mile return journey made by Mr Hoyle and his Ribble Valley counterpart Nigel Evans.
Friends of the Earth also attacked the MPs for damaging the environment, while a rival of Mr Hoyle has questioned its usefulness to constituents.
Stephen Fenn, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Chorley, said: "I think the only people who might have benefited from the trip were the people of the Cayman Islands. I can't think anybody over here who would get much out of it."
Frank Kennedy, North West spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said he was concerned at carbon emissions produced by long distance flights taken by MPs on 'fact finding' trips.
Mr Evans was unavailable for comment.
He previously told the Evening Post: "The only way you can see the problems that the islands face is if you go and see it for yourself."
The pair visited the islands as members of the House of Commons' Cayman Islands All Party Parliamentary Group, an informal group which last met on June 24.
There are 24 members including vice-chairman Mr Evans and treasurer Mr Hoyle.
A spokesman for the Cayman Islands government said: "The MPs came at the invitation of the Cayman Islands Leader of Government Business and the trip was funded by the Cayman Islands Government – no information about costs is available."
