Colvile was criticised when it was revealed in October 2011 that he received hospitality equivalent (on the market) to £694.80 from Japan Tobacco, owners of the Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut brands, paying for a visit to see Test match cricket at The Oval that summer, coming shortly after he voted in favour of relaxing the smoking ban. Colvile was again criticised in July 2013 when it was revealed he received two free tickets (worth £1,260) to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, again from Japan Tobacco. Colvile was in favour of Britain remaining in the European Union during the 2016 referendum campaign. In March 2013 Mr Colvile, who was then vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the Armed Forces made an all-expenses-paid trip to Saudi Arabia as a delegate of the UK Defence Forum that he received from the Saudi Arabian government. Following a spell at an agency advising on business development, since 1996 Oliver Colvile has run a communications business specialising in handling community consultation for major regeneration projects. He is a member of the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors, and is also a former director of the Enterprise Forum. Colvile is a keen cricketer and a member of the Addis Army, which supports the England national side: