British MP Afzal Khan has resigned as trade envoy to Turkey following criticism over his visit to the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus last week.
The territory is not recognised by the British government, with Turkish troops occupying the northern third of Cyprus since an invasion in 1974.
Khan, MP for the Manchester Rusholme constituency, also met Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, a move the Cypriot government described as “absolutely reprehensible and unacceptable.”
Khan told the BBC he had paid for the trip himself and was visiting his cousin, as well as receiving an honorary degree from an academic institution.
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Khan said he felt it was “best for him to step down at this time so as not to distract from the hard work the government is doing to secure the best possible trade deals for this country.”
However, he insisted that his visit was “in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recess” and was not related to his role as trade envoy.
He also suggested that 20 British MPs had visited northern Cyprus without facing similar criticism.
Wendy Morton, who holds the position of “shadow” foreign secretary, welcomed the resignation but said Starmer should have sacked Khan sooner.
Christos Karaolis, president of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, said that Khan’s position was “clearly untenable following his deeply inappropriate and unacceptable visit to occupied northern Cyprus.”
A government spokesman confirmed that Khan had left his post as trade envoy to the Republic of Turkey, Klix.ba writes.
