David Amess, Member of Parliament for Southend West and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See, led a group of MPs to the Vatican for the annual visit of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See. The trip was from the 18th to the 19th of January and was hosted by Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Campbell.

Mr Amess attended an audience with Pope Benedict XVI and met other leading figures in the Vatican along with his Parliamentary colleagues. The annual trip strengthens the ties between the Houses of Parliament and the Vatican and was once again a huge success.