MPs fail to get visas for Burma trip

Burmese authorities have been accused of blocking UK MPs from making a fact-finding trip to the country.

The Commons International Development Committee had been due to hold a series of meetings with senior military and civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Committee chairman Stephen Twigg suggested the Burmese embassy had failed to issue visas because the MPs had produced a critical report on the plight of the Rohingya people in the country last month.

The embassy failed to provide visas for the visit which had been planned "for some time", a committee spokeswoman said.

Mr Twigg said he would raise the issue with Commons Speaker John Bercow on Wednesday.

The senior Labour MP said: "We are extremely disappointed.

"It is hard to escape the conclusion that this is a direct consequence of our report on the Rohingya."

In a report in January, the MPs had raised fears for the safety of Rohingya refugees as they warned that rape and sexual violence remained weapons of war used by the Burmese military.