An £8,000 trip to a conference in South Korea and dinners with an armed forces group are among the financial interests east Berkshire MPs have registered this year.

Slough and Windsor’s MPs have defended their registered interests to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Here is what they have declared this year.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi – Labour, Slough

Labour’s Tan Dhesi has registered £360 worth of dinners with the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces.

This totalled to eight dinners in 2023, valued at £45 each.

He also registered overseas trips to Taiwan and to Malawi, which totalled to more than £5,000 and £2,500 respectively.

Mr Dhesi told the LDRS: “My one and only paid job is as the MP for Slough. My Register of Interests provides a transparent and public account of any donations or similar that I may have received during my time as the Slough MP. Not a single penny from these stated gifts and donations has gone into my pocket.

“Engaging with All-Party Parliamentary Groups is important for MPs, as it facilitates discussions and information sharing. At the regular APPG for Armed Forces work-dinners in Parliament, UK military leaders briefed MPs on issues affecting our armed forces.

“The cross-party Taiwan visit, paid for by the Taiwanese government, was to strengthen our international ties, and foster global discussions on security and trade, especially given the recent threats from the current Chinese regime.

“Having been a member for several years of the APPG for Malaria & Neglected Tropical Diseases, they had organised a visit of four MPs to Malawi to highlight exactly how the UK is working on the ground with our friends there to help eradicate these deadly diseases. MPs carefully consider the value of such engagements for diplomacy and other national interests.”

Adam Afriyie – Conservative, Windsor

Windsor’s MP Adam Afriyie just registered one outside visit from the UK in 2023, which was a trip to South Korea to speak at a Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum conference.

The GTNF is described as on its website as the “world’s leading annual conference discussing the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries.”

The value of the trip was £8,384.88, although Mr Afriyie’s office told the LDRS that this covered flights, accommodation and meals – and that he did not receive a speaker’s fee.

He reportedly spoke about the UK's legislative approach to harm reduction from tobacco.

Mr Afriyie told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I am proud of the UK’s progress in harm reduction and as a former Vice Chair of the APPG on Vaping I was always pleased to accept speaking invitations and to share our UK success story.

"As the independent Khan Review noted, almost six million people still smoke in England and smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death.

“My crusade is to ensure that legislation is evidence based and led by the science. Vaping saves lives as one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, and I continue to urge all smokers to quit the deadly habit.”