LABOUR MP Keith Vaz faces a six-month suspension from the House of Commons.
The longest-serving British Asian MP, has been accused of a “very serious breach” of the House code of conduct…
Who is Keith Vaz?
Keith Vaz became the MP for Leicester East in 1987.
He was born Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz on November 26, 1956.
Vaz moves from Goa, to Twickenham with his family in 1965.
His dad was previously a correspondent for The Times of India, before moving to the airline industry.
His mum held two jobs, as a teacher and a worker for Marks & Spencer.
Vaz attended Cambridge University’ Gonville and Caius College, where he studied law, and graduated with a 1st class Honours in 1979.
The MP has two sisters, Valerie, born 1954, and Penny McConnell.
Penny is a solicitor, and Valerie, has been the MP for Walsall South since 2010.
Vaz lives in London with his wife Maria Fernandez, and their son and daughter.
What has he been accused of?
The MP was previously the chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee.
But he resigned after the Sunday Mirror reportedhe had met two men in his London flat to engage in paid-for sex.
In the course of the encounter – which was covertly audio-recorded by one of the men – Mr Vaz was said to have offered to buy illegal drugs for a third person to use.
The committee said his explanation that the men were there to discuss the redecoration of the flat and that he may have been given a “spike drink” was “not believable and, indeed ludicrous”.
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Vaz was previously the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee – which has been battling to decriminalise prostitution
Why is he facing suspension?
In October 2019, the Commons Standards Committee has said he “expressed willingness” to purchase cocaine for others.
Recommending suspension, the Commons Standards Committee said the finding represented a “very serious breach” of the House code of conduct for MPs.
It said that by failing to co-operate fully with the Commons inquiry process, Mr Vaz had shown “disrespect for the House’s standards system” and caused “significant damage” to the reputation and integrity of the Commons as a whole.
If the Commons agrees to the recommended suspension, it will trigger the opening of a recall petition in his Leicester East constituency, provided a general election does not intervene first.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen, whose complaint triggered the investigation, told BBC East Midlands Today: “The wheels of justice have moved slowly but inexorably to the right conclusion.
“The report is damning regarding Keith Vaz’s conduct and only needs rubber stamp from parliament now.
“Hopefully, this is the end of the line for Keith Vaz, I don’t think he’s fit to be representing anywhere in this place, I think he’s been a malign influence on local and national politics for too long.”
A statement on the MP’s website said he had been treated for a “serious mental-health condition” for the last three years as a result of the events of August 2016.
“He has shared all the medical reports in confidence with the committee. He has nothing further to say on this matter other than what was said in his oral and written statements to the committee and to the commissioner,” the statement said.
Has he been taken to hospital?
On October 28, the same statement on his website said he had been admitted to hospital.
It said: “He has today (Monday) been admitted to hospital and this office will not be making any further comments.”
The statement also added he would be at risk of death if he consumed illegal drugs.
It said: “He has a cardiovascular condition which would mean that were he to consume any non-prescribed drugs he would in all likelihood die.”
