UK trade envoy resigns over Northern Cyprus visit

Labor MP Afzal Khan resigned for Turkey as a UK business messenger after criticizing his visit to Northern Cyprus’s self-declared Turkish Republic last week.

The region is not recognized by the UK government as Turkish soldiers have captured the northern third of Cyprus since the 1974 invasion.

Manchester Rasholme MP Mr. Khan also met with Turkish -Seriut leader Ersin Tatar – a step that the Cyprint government described as “absolutely condemnable and unacceptable”.

Mr. Khan told the BBC that he himself had paid for the journey and was visiting his nephew with an educational institution obtaining an honorary degree.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister today, Mr. Khan said that he felt “it was best to stand down at this time, so the government should not distract from hard work to secure the best possible business deals for this country”.

But he insisted that his visit was “an individual ability during the parliamentary holiday and” unrelated “for his role as a business messenger.

He also suggested that 20 British MPs visited Northern Cyprus without attracting similar criticism.

Chhaya Foreign Minister Wendy Morton welcomed the resignation, but said that Sir Kir Star had soon dismissed Mr. Khan.

Chhaya Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel also invited the MP’s resignation earlier this week.

Christos Karolis, president of the National Federation of Cyprots in the UK, said that Mr. Khan’s position was “clearly unstable after his deep inappropriate and unacceptable journey in the capture of Northern Cyprus”.

A government spokesperson confirmed that Mr. Khan had left his post as a business messenger for the Republic of Tourkay.