Labour MP Afzal Khan has resigned from his position as the UK’s trade envoy to Turkey following scrutiny surrounding his recent visit to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The territory is not recognised by the UK government, as Turkish forces have occupied the northern third of Cyprus since the 1974 invasion.
Mr. Khan, the Member of Parliament for Manchester Rusholme, also met with Turkish-Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, a move that the Cypriot government denounced as “absolutely condemnable and unacceptable.”
Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Khan stated that he personally financed the trip, during which he visited his nephew and received an honorary degree from an academic institution.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister today, Mr. Khan stated that he believed it was “best to stand down at this time so not to distract from the hard work the government is doing to secure the best possible trade deals for this country.”
However, he maintained that his visit was undertaken “in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recess” and was “unrelated” to his role as a trade envoy.
He also noted that approximately 20 British parliamentarians had previously visited northern Cyprus without eliciting similar criticism.
Shadow Foreign Minister Wendy Morton acknowledged the resignation, while asserting that Sir Keir Starmer should have dismissed Mr. Khan sooner.
Earlier this week, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel also called for the MP’s resignation.
Christos Karaolis, President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, stated that Mr. Khan’s position “was clearly untenable following his deeply inappropriate and unacceptable visit to occupied northern Cyprus.”
A Government spokesperson has confirmed that Mr. Khan has left his position as Trade Envoy to the Republic of Türkiye.