VAZ LETTER TO IMMIGRATION CAUSES A STORM

Keith Vaz – senior Labour MP has been nominated for a potential enquiry after he wrote to Sarah Rapson – director general of UK visas and immigration regarding the case of Lalit Modi, founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament who wants British travel papers.

At the time he wrote the letter, Vaz was chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee where he supervised and scrutinised Rapson and her team. He tried to represent someone who was not one of his constituents (Leicester East) and this was not declared publicly.

Labor MP John Mann thinks Vaz should stand down from re-election of the select committee chairman against the Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart.

Vaz has strongly denied any inappropriate behaviour and says he treated Modi’s case like any other where there seemed to be inaccuracies in the immigration system.  However Tory MP Andrew Bridgen requested in a letter to Kathryn Hudson – parliamentary standards commissioner, that the case had to be investigated on grounds that Vaz had breached the MP’s code of conduct.