WYCOMBE MP Steve Baker says he is glad he went on a £25,000 trip to Africa, despite “hysterical” national media reports.

Mr Baker has defended the visit to Equatorial Guinea during August, at no cost to taxpayers, because it exposed the bad practice of its Governance.

It was funded by the dictatorial government through a grant to the Triarius Foundation which supports West African and Islamic states.

He told the Bucks Free Press he spent only three working days in the country, during the Parliamentary recess, and it has exposed the bad practice of the government.

He went as part of a delegation with two other Tory MPs.

“I saw it as an opportunity to help our understanding of Equatorial Guinea, which has been a pariah among nations, and possibly help people there.

“Sure enough the press has been hysterical that we went at all.”

Mr Baker, Marlow Bottom's MP, told the Telegraph he wished he had not gone due to the “hysterical” media reaction.

But he said this week: “On reflection I'm glad we went.

“I think in the end we would have done some good for the people of Equatorial Guinea who are living in abject poverty and over time I hope that will change.

“What we've actually done is taken a despot's money and spent it on showing he's a despot.”

Mr Baker has written a fiercely critical report about the country's government.

SEE LINK BELOW.

The trio stayed at the five-star Sofitel Sipopo hotel, which has an 18-hole golf course and spa.

But Mr Baker said: “People have sought to suggest we went there for a lovely time, but it wasn't a lovely time, it was both hard work and stressful because we could see for ourselves how bad the Government was and how abjectly poor the people were.

“They whisked us around in a cavalcade which we found frankly absurd. They obviously wanted to monitor us. They managed to crash the cavalcade and involve us in a car accident.”

Mr Baker escaped uninjured but said it was still “very unpleasant”.

“I was very glad to get off the ground at Equatorial Guinea and be on the way home. I certainly don't think I will be going there again.”

Two BFP readers wrote this week to criticise Mr Baker's decision to go but he said to expose bad governance it is necessary to go to such places.

He added he works hard for Wycombe residents and said: “Being an MP is first and foremost about serving my constituents but part of serving my constituents is about helping the Government further our interests around the world and I was asked to look at Equatorial Guinea and see if it's possible to do anything there.”