British lawmakers have used overseas business trips for sex and binge drinking, POLITICO writes, citing their colleagues and diplomats.

One former Conservative MP, now a member of the House of Lords, for example, was interested in the nearest brothel during a trip to Southeast Asia.

Another Conservative MP and former minister preferred to linger for a couple of days after a business trip to develop his interest in local women, his colleagues reported.

According to a foreign diplomat, a high-ranking Labor MP showed sympathy for Russian girls during trips abroad, and local authorities felt powerless to intervene because they worried about preserving their influence in Westminster.

Of particular concern were the activities of country APPGs, auxiliary cross-party groups made up of MPs dealing with a single country or group of countries. The groups are subject to less stringent rules than the more well-known House of Commons ad hoc committees. The focus of these groups on foreign countries means that they tend to make regular trips abroad, funded by foreign governments or private companies.

As part of its ongoing investigation, POLITICO spoke with more than a dozen government officials and lawmakers in Britain and abroad who confirmed allegations of drunken, lewd or sexually inappropriate behavior by some lawmakers and colleagues on such trips.

MPs' relationships with British overseas territories have come under repeated scrutiny, with local officials telling POLITICO that some MPs participated in parties organized by diplomatic representatives to which young men and women were "supplied" for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts.

According to local officials, some deputies often actively asked foreign governments for a full-paid trip, sometimes going so far as to express their preference for champagne and lavish dinners.

A former British parliamentarian said the government of one such territory was deeply disappointed by the behavior of visiting British MPs who think they are celebrities-they drink and behave badly and arrogantly.