Accra, May 11, GNA - Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Press Secretary, has defended the size of delegation that accompanied President John Evans Atta Mills to Britain last week, insisting that, "there has been a conscious cut and reduction in numbers" compared to similar trips embarked upon by officials of the previous regime.

Addressing a news conference at the Castle, Osu, on Monday, Mr Ayariga said 30 personalities were on President Mills' official visit to the United Kingdom compared to the 47 who were on former President John Agyekum Kufuor's September 2008 trip to receive a "Chatham House" prize in Britain. He said government had until now avoided comparing certain actions taken by the previous regime's foreign travels to the present one, but this stance, unfortunately was being misrepresented by some critics of the Mills Administration.

"We did not want to travel this far," said Mr Ayariga, restating his opposition to comparing every action of President Mills to that of ex-President Kufuor. He said government was "not hiding anything that is embarrassing" about the recent trip as being speculated by its critics.

Mr Ayariga said in contrast to the size of delegation of President Mills' visit, ex-Mr Kufuor's last trip to London as President even had drivers and secretaries on board. Additionally, he said, whereas President Mills focused on seeking support for the economy and spurring investment, the 47 delegates on Mr Kufuor's trip went there to observe the former head of state receive an award.

Mr Ayariga said what was surprising about that delegation was the fact that some of the personalities were not known state operatives, while President Mills' visit was to seek ways to strengthen the economy and seek investment in the country. Mr Ayariga explained why the original figure of 27 as given by officials at the Ministry of Information had risen by insisting that, the figure had to be revised following a modification of President Mills' itinerary that resulted in the inclusion of some key officials to make the intended meetings effective. Among the 30 delegation included officials at the Presidency, Ministers of State, medics, security detail of the President and journalists.