Sri Lanka has dismissed Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire’s comments to the Tamil Guardian, criticising the country for not attending the summit on ending sexual violence in conflict, held this week in London, saying they were not invited.

Acting High Commissioner Neville de Silva said the criticism was "surely misplaced", according to The Sunday Island.

"British Foreign Office specifically noted earlier that Sri Lanka cannot participate as it had not been invited" he claimed.

"Swire might remember that he wrote to External Affairs Minister, Prof. G. L. Peiris, referring to the upcoming summit," he added.

“Since the Minister was unable to attend, he nominated officials to participate. When the high commission contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in order to announce our participation and register the participants, the British Foreign Office specifically said that Sri Lanka cannot participate as it had not been invited", De Silva told The Sunday Island.

In fact, the Foreign Office wrote to "apologise if there was any ambiguity in the letter from Hugo Swire to Minister Peiris with regard to the invitation to the Summit", he said.

According to De Silva, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) then said: "So to clarify, we are only inviting delegations from those countries that have endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict."

In another communication, the FCO wrote to De Silva reiterating that "the policy remains that we are inviting only those countries that have endorsed the Declaration. Please take this as a clarification."

"Though we had submitted a list of participants, the FCO did not accept it, the argument being ‘endorse the Declaration if you wish to attend’," he said.

President of the Sinhala Association of United Kingdom, Douglas Wickremaratne said the UK was at most a second rate world power.

"Foreign Office Minister Swire is blaming Sri Lanka for not attending. On the other hand, his own office says ‘you are not invited to attend’. It is time Swire got his act together", he said. 

"Britain today is a second rate power, if not a third rate world power. It is struggling to make a name. It is easy to hold these summits. But, it would be far better if the current British government releases the Chilcott report on UK’s role in Iraq. Then, we will know who should be restrained in more areas that sexual violence which happens often enough in this country even when there is no conflict", Wickremaratne said.