Keith Vaz faces six month suspension

Keith Vaz, former chair of the Commons Home Affairs-committee, is facing a six-month suspension from parliament after an inquiry found “compelling” evidence  he offered to procure class A drugs for other people.

The Labour MP, who has represented Leicester East since 1087, resigned from the committee three years ago, after a newspaper exposé claimed he had paid for male escorts with enticements of cocaine  and other drugs. He was referred to the Commons standards committee for investigation.

Kathryn Stone, standards Commissioner, said, Mr Vaz’s action amounted to a “very serious breach” of parliament’s code of conduct, which had “ caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole.” The report recommended a six-month suspension, the longest since the second world war. If MPs endorse that, Mr  Vaz’s suspension would automatically trigger a recall petition. If 10 per cent of his constituents sign it, a by-election

will take place. Ms Stone said Mr Vaz was evasive  and unhelpful and declined to comment on details of meeting with two men described in the Sunday Mirror, due to Amnesia. His story that they visited the flat to discuss interior decoration was ludicrous.