Story here, from The Telegraph. “Contacted in Thailand by The Sunday Telegraph, last week, he said: ‘It’s a bit difficult to communicate with someone when you are on top of an elephant’.”
Man, you Brits are so nice to pick up these tabs. 
From the same article:
‘He later defended his visit, claiming he had turned down places on other British Council trips to the Far East but had accepted this one because it coincided with a planned holiday there.
He claimed his holiday coincided with the parliamentary recess from February 7 to 18. He admitted his return ticket had been paid for by the British Council, as well as his Bangkok hotel, but said that he and his wife were meeting all other costs.
…
A spokesman for the British Council confirmed that the organisation had provided Mr Sheerman with a return ticket and Bangkok hotel, but said it was not contributing to the cost of his holiday.’
Are you saying US senators and Congressmen don’t go on trips paid for by the US taxpayer?
They do all the time, but there’s usually some pretense of it being for official purposes. The ethics rules for congressional delegations are fairly strict and Senators and Representatives often end up having to reimburse the government for this and that when the GAO audits their trips. Expensing a family vacation would not go over well.
Well (as I posted) this was an official trip.
**No expenses ** were paid for a family vacation.
So what is all the fuss about?
Touche! 
Oh.
Beats me. Sounds like some dude’s just looking for an excuse to be a dick. Our legislators over here do that all the time, also.
Harumph! I’ll have you know that I need no excuse to be a dick. 