Police HQ Silent on RTI Request Over Officers Sent to UK During Wickremesinghe's Visit

Sri Lanka Police Headquarters has failed to respond to a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking details about a team of police officers reportedly dispatched to the United Kingdom in connection with President Ranil Wickremesinghe's official visit there in September 2023.

RTI Request Left Unanswered

According to sources, the RTI query was formally submitted on 8 January this year by a journalist seeking transparency over the deployment of local police personnel to the UK during the presidential visit. However, Police Headquarters has so far provided no response to the request, raising concerns over the institution's compliance with Sri Lanka's Right to Information Act.

Transparency Concerns

The Right to Information Act, which came into force in Sri Lanka in 2017, legally obliges public institutions to respond to information requests within a stipulated timeframe. A failure to do so is considered a violation of the legislation, which was introduced to promote accountability and openness in government bodies.

The silence from Police Headquarters over a straightforward RTI request has drawn attention to questions of institutional accountability at the highest levels of law enforcement.

Critics argue that the lack of a response undermines public trust in both the police service and the broader commitment to transparent governance in Sri Lanka. The deployment of police officers overseas at public expense is a matter that citizens and media have a legitimate right to scrutinise.

It remains unclear why officers were sent to the UK in relation to the presidential visit, what the cost of such a deployment may have been, or how many personnel were involved. None of these questions have been addressed by Police Headquarters to date.