Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris told court today that when questioned, former President Ranil Wickramasinghe had said “there is no such thing as a private or official trip for a President.”
Pieris said that Ranil Wickramasinghe had also said that state funds can be used for any visits for a President.
Pieris said some documents had initially described Wickremesinghe’s 2023 London visit as a “private trip,” but were later changed to simply state it was a “visit.” He told court that Rs. 16.6 million in state funds were spent on 10 people, including security officers, for the trip.
He further argued that the invitation had come from a private institution, the University of Wolverhampton, and that for the visit to be recognized as a state event, there must have been an official invitation from the UK Government. (Newswire)
